The Runaway
by kayden-sparks
Summary: Mia and Dom can't help but bring home another stray. She's a young girl that ran away from her old life but can't outrun the pain that it's caused. Can the team help keep her demons at bay? Or will their own demons get in the way?
1. The Sandwich Thief

**Hi guys! Okay let me start off by saying this is my first time actually letting anyone ANYONE read my writing, so I'm pretty nervous so please be kind. If you like it review so I know someone out there wants me to keep writing, if you don't or have some pointers I'm open to that too. **

**I don't own anything, except my OC.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

The young blonde girl knew hunger, the weakness, the fatigue, the pains it caused; but being so close to food and not being able to eat any of it was another pain all together. It was a rainy summer day and all she wanted was to get out of the rain. She ran to the closest shelter she could find which happened to be a small restaurant/grocery store. There was no one there except a large guy sitting at the small bar on a stool trying to sweet talk the girl washing a glass. She was doing her best to ignore him so she didn't hear the squeak of the girl's wet barely there sneakers. She sat at a table away from them just so she could rest a bit.

She took a few deep breathes to try to get her head to stop spinning, but it was in one of those deep breaths that she smelt something truly amazing. She couldn't identify it, but it made the sharp pain in her stomach intensify.

"Vince, your hands are disgusting, go wash them before you eat!" The woman chastised the man at the bar smacking him with the rag she was using to dry.

"Oh come on, Mia!" He mumbled something else that she couldn't hear and she called him a Neanderthal. They both were so busy bickering with each other they still hadn't noticed the little girl in the beat up old black jacket with the hood still pulled up huddled in the corner table.

She watched as Vince got up to wash his hands and saw the sandwich that was sitting on the plate. Her stomach gave her another shot of pain as she eyed it hungrily. She didn't know what kind it was and she didn't care. The woman behind the bar turned away to deal with something else and while she did the girl pounced. She didn't realize what she had done until she was running out of the restaurant with the sandwich in her hand. She heard a loud low voice yelling after her and she assumed it was Vince but didn't look back to check.

She didn't know how far she'd gone but she ran until she couldn't run anymore. She ran through puddles, through mud and people. By the time she got to an alleyway where she felt safe the sandwich was soaked through and most of its contents had fallen out but that didn't stop her from devouring every crumb. She tried to take it slow and savor each bite, but she was so hungry that it was gone before she knew it. With her hunger subdued for now she realized what she'd done. She'd stolen. She was a thief, a criminal. The blonde sank down the dirty alley wall putting her head in her hands in shame.

"Let it go, Vince." Mia called out as Vince went to pursue the sandwich thief.

"That bastard stole my sandwich!" He yelled pointing at the assailant

"And I'll make you another one, now sit!" Mia commanded as she watched the thief was a long ways away. Vince begrudgingly turned and sat back down. "You would have never caught him anyways, that kid was fast!" Vince glared up at Mia but didn't say a thing while she made him a new one.

Five days after the sandwich fiasco found the young girl hungry again and sneaking up to the restaurant. The woman must be in the back be preparing something and there wasn't anyone else in there. She took a deep breath pushed her hood up despite the lack of rain and pushed herself to go inside. She put a shaking hand inside her jacket pocket and pulled out a dirty envelope. She was about to place it on the bar when a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist right above her cheap thick bracelet. The large hand could nearly wrap around her wrist twice. She thrashed against the large man's grip on her but it was like solid steel.

"So you must be our famous sandwich thief." A deep voice rumbled behind her. Alexis froze at the man's words. She looked up at him and realized how much taller he was than her. He had to be at least six foot and his muscular size added to his monstrosity. At the same time though Alexis couldn't help but be astonished by his good looks. His physique, his voice, his deep brown eyes, he was like a Greek god.

"What do you have there?" He pulled the envelope from her hand and opened it all without breaking his grip on her wrist. He furrowed his brows when he saw the note.

"_I am sare I stoled from you. I dont no how much it cost I hop this can pey for it." _Dom looked down at the note that was hardly legible. It looked like a five year old had written it and the spelling was just as bad. He furrowed his brows as he looked down in the envelope and noticed a large amount of change. He spun the girl around and sat her on the barstool so he was blocking her way and didn't let go of her wrist.

He tossed the change filled envelope and note onto the bar and pulled her hood down but all he could see was long, greasy hair. He lifted her chin and he was surprised by what he saw. She was a young girl, but not as young as he thought by her stature or her handwriting. She had hair that looked to be dirty blonde, but with all the dirt and grime covering her it was hard to tell, it could have been bleach blonde for all he knew, her skin was dark, but again that could have been from the layers of dirt that covered her. The rest of her was covered in layers of clothes so he couldn't see her size, but if her boney wrist were anything to go off of she was very malnourished. The thing that caught him off guard though was the bright blue eyes that seemed too large for her face and which now had tears in them. Immediately he let go of her wrists thinking that he was hurting her.

"What's your name?" Dom asked trying to not sound too intimidating to scare her off, but enough that she'd answer him. The girl sniffed and wiped at her eyes.

"…I'm." The girl cleared her throat and he could tell she was trying not to break down She was looking everywhere but at him. She mumbled something.

"Alexis?" She was so quiet that Dom had barely heard her. The girl gave a hesitant nod. He looked down hard at her and that's when she broke down. "I'm so sorry I stole! I was so hungry that I didn't realize, but that's no excuse, I shouldn't have done it." The girl had her head in her hands at this time as she cried.

"Hey, look at me." He said gently this time. The girl looked up at him after wiping her eyes. She kept sniffling and giving soft sobs. Dom reached his hand out to put it on her shoulder but as he did the girl flinched back. She opened her eyes after a few seconds when the hit didn't come and saw Dom looking at her sadly.

"I'm Dom." He said putting his hand out for her to shake. She looked down at his hand then up at him absolutely confused. She gently put her small hand in his which he fully engulfed as he shook it gently. "When's the last time you had a decent meal?" He asked the girl letting go of her hand.

"The sandwich." She said it longingly as if it was the best thing she'd ever eaten.

"Hun, I said decent meal. A sandwich is not a meal, and I love Mia but her sandwiches aren't the greatest. "Why don't you come with me and we'll get you some real food?" Dom watched as her eyes got even bigger if that was possible and she backed away from him as far as the barstool would allow. She gently shook her head still looking at him in fear. Dom held his hands up in surrender.

"I'm not going to hurt you, and I'll make sure no one else does either." Alexis looked like she was about to bolt at any second. "It just looked like you could use a good meal, I promise no one will lay a hand on you." As he spoke of food another pang of hunger hit her hard. She wanted to go with him, she really did. But how could she? Just then there was a noise behind them.

"Hey Dom, I'm closing up for the BBQ." It was the same woman that Alexis had seen before and she sunk into her seat further in shame.

"Hey Mia, come meet Alexis." Mia came around the bar and saw the young girl sitting there looking scared as a bunny.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Alexis looked up at her and gave a small smile that was gone so fast Dom wasn't sure if it was even there. "Wait, I know that jacket. Are you our little sandwich thief?" Mia asked in a light voice that held no condemnation but Dom saw tears well up in the young girl's eyes.

"It's ok. She brought some money to pay for it, and even a note." Dom smiled.

"I'm really sorry, ma'am." Alexis looked down in shame. Mia looked at the note and looked down at the girl.

"It's ok. How old are you hun?" The girl bit her lips as if thinking about it.

"Um, 22?" The siblings looked at each other surprised. "Yeah, that's right." The girl before them was about Mia's age, but she looked like she was barely out of high school. She was too skinny and she looked like she had undergone horrible affliction. She had scrapes and bruises underneath the dirt but worse was the terror in her eyes.

"Well, Mia I was just inviting Alexis over for the BBQ. What do you think?" He said looking over at his sister.

"Oh, that sounds like a great idea!" She smiled excitingly at the girl. The girl looked between the two biting her lip. "You'll love it! Dom will be grilling chicken, I'll be making macaroni salad, we'll have chips, dips, beer, everything you can imagine." She smiled down at the girl who seemed to now have a pained look. "Are you ok?" The girl clutched at her stomach and nodded.

"Yeah, it's just been a while since I've had something to eat."

"When was the last time you ate?" The girl looked down again. "It wasn't the sandwich was it?" Mia asked in shock.

"No, um." She thought back a bit. "Um, I had some bread a bit ago." Mia tried to hide her emotions but all she wanted to do is reach out and hug the young girl in front of her.

"Oh, good." She gave a tight smile. "Well then, I'm sure you'll have room for all the good stuff we'll have." Alexis looked back from Dom to Mia before giving a small nod.

"Good, it's a date then." Dom said backing up so she could jump down. "Come on, I'll give you a ride." He nodded outside, but Alexis took a step back.

"Or maybe I could give you a ride." Mia suggested seeing her hesitation. Alexis nodded her head with earnest. Dom nodded in understanding someone had hurt her, a man. It made his blood boil but he couldn't let that show as the girl was studying him. She was waiting for him to snap, to lash out at her, he had to keep the anger for the men hidden or she'd think it was pointed towards her.

"Ok, then I'll see you guys at the house." He gave them both a tight smile while rubbing at his shaved head. "Go on, I'll set the alarm and lock up." Mia nodded and walked off with Alexis following quickly behind her. Dom noticed that she kept looking over her shoulder at him as if waiting to make sure he wouldn't dive down on her. Once they were out of sight Dom shook his head. He picked up the note and frowned. What the hell had happened to this girl?


	2. Meeting the team

"Home sweet home." Mia smiled as she pulled into the drive way. The drive to the house took a little longer since it seemed that every turn that she took Alexis would grab onto the armrest. "You ok?" Alexis looked at Mia and gave the first genuine smile.

"I've never done that before." Mia smiled at her smile but was confused.

"You've never done what?"

"Ridden in a car." She said meekly.

"You mean like a performance car?" She asked still confused.

"No, any car." She answered truthfully. Mia wanted to ask what planet that she'd come from, but knew that it would only scare her off.

"So did you like it?" Mia figured since she was gripping so tightly that she didn't but to her surprise she nodded vigorously.

"It was fun!" Mia laughed at her enthusiasm.

"I think you'll fit in here after all."

"Really?" Alexis had never fit in anywhere, she'd always just been a burden. Mia gave her a sad smile at the shock in her voice.

"Yeah, now come one we got to get ready before everyone gets here." Alexis followed Mia inside happily. Mia gave her a quick tour of the house before grabbing a towel for her.

"Here," She put it into the girl's hands before directing her towards the bathroom. "There's wash clothes under the sink, soap, conditioner and shampoo in the shower. Use whatever you need. Just give me two minutes." Mia ran off and came back a few minutes later with a cute white sun dress with a red sash around the middle and small red flowers, underwear, a cover up sweater, and a pair of flats. "Here these might be a little big but they should work." Alexis looked in delight at the dress.

"It's so pretty! Are you sure though? I don't want to mess them up." Mia smiled at the wide range of emotions the girl had just gone through.

"Yeah, it's fine. So I'm going to be down stairs. When you're done in the shower just come get me and we'll finish getting you ready, okay?" Alexis nodded touching the smooth material of the dress. It was finer than anything that she had ever owned. Mia turned to leave but was stopped by Kayla's tiny voice.

"Thank you, Mia." Mia was touched by the sincerity of the girl's words.

"Sure hun." She nodded reaching out and touching the girl's arm. Alexis still flinched a bit, but she didn't jump like she did with Dom. Mia figured it was at least a start. She closed the door as Alexis started taking off her jacket. Once the door was closed Alexis quickly locked the door. She continued stripping and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She skimmed her hands over her body and shivered. Alexis forced herself from looking at the frightening image. The dirt, the scars, and the bones that were jutting out just under the surface made her look like something out of a horror movie.

She smiled as she turned on the hot water which seemed to wash away all of her worries. She wasn't allowed to use hot water before but even as she scrubbed her body enough for it to hurt, she enjoyed herself. She realized that she'd been in for longer than she probably should so she quickly toweled off and put on the dress. It really was a beautiful dress she thought. She made sure to put on the sweater since it covered all of her scars and it helped hide her skeleton form.

Alexis poked her head out but didn't see anyone so she quickly made her way down the stairs. "Mia?" She asked meekly coming into the kitchen. Mia turned and saw a brand new girl in front of her. The girl's hair that was once matted and dark now shined a bright blonde, her eyes now seemed to sparkle since they weren't surrounded by dirt and her skin now gave a healthier glow.

"You look great!" Mia beamed. She still had dark bags under her eyes, and she was still too skinny, but she was looking much better. Alexis smiled and blushed at the compliment but didn't know what to say since in all the time she could remember she'd never gotten one. "Come on, let's get you ready." Alexis didn't know what else she needed but followed obediently anyways. She sat in the chair in front of Mia's vanity and let the woman work. Her head was tilted this way and that as Mia put half of her hair up in a ponytail braiding the top half and letting the bottom half hang in simple waves. She was then turned away from the mirror as Mia applied light make up.

"And you're done! What do you think Alex?" Alexis smiled at the nickname, she'd never had a nickname that she actually liked before. Mia smiled as she turned the girl around to face the mirror. Alexis had never worn make up in her life and was surprised by how much the small application highlighted her features. Her eyes were framed perfectly so they shown brightly but didn't overtake her face, her lips were lined just right so that they drew more attention.

"Oh, Mia! I look so much better." She smiled at her reflection. It was true, her cheeks didn't look as sunken in, the bags under her eyes were concealed, and all around she looked healthier.

"Glad you like it, sweety." Mia quickly changed and Alexis watched as Mia applied a small amount of makeup. They could hear a lot of noise coming from down stairs so Mia knew that the team was all there.

"You ready to meet everyone?" The small smile that she had on her face slowly faded as she thought of meeting new people.

"It's ok, they're all sweethearts. And if they aren't, just tell Dom and he'll beat 'em up for ya." Mia smiled and winked at her. That brought the smile back on Alexis' face and she nodded. Mia took her hand and led her down stairs into the living room where she knew everyone would be.

"Hey guys," Mia started as everyone was now looking at her. "This is Alexis. Alex, this is Leon, Letty, Vince, Jesse, and my boyfriend Brian." Each of them gave a small head nod and most smiled at her except for Vince and Letty. Brian gave her a big smile.

"Nice to meet you Alex." He said putting his hand out to her. She looked up at Mia questioningly to which Mia gave an encouraging smile. The girl took a large breath before putting her hand in his.

"Nice to meet you to." She said but never looked him in the eye. Brian gave Mia a curious look to which she mouthed 'later'.

"Alright everyone, grab something and let's head outside to eat!" Dom order guiding everyone through the kitchen into the backyard. As everyone put down their dishes Alexis was overwhelmed by the amount of food. Grace was said, which was a first for Alexis, and after that food started to be passed around. To everyone around the table this was a normal Sunday, to Alex, it was absolute chaos. She was sat in between Dom and Mia so she'd have someone to look after her and it was a good thing because she was too timid just to dig in and the food would have been devoured without her having a bite without Dom's watchful eyes.

"So what do you like Alexis?" Alexis look at all the food but could only shrug, she didn't know what most of the stuff was. "Well, do you like chicken?" Dom asked patiently.

"Um, I don't know." She looked down at her hands tugging her sleeve down over her hands. "I've never had any before." Dom gave himself a second to be shocked before he cleared his face to a smile.

"Well, first time for everything, right?" His encouraging tone made her look up and give him a small smile. She nodded while he grabbed her a piece. Many bowls were passed around filled each time Dom asked her if she liked it she could only shrug. Dom was becoming more and more concerned about this girl, 'what the hell did she eat?' He thought. But he tried not showing his concern.

"Well, if there's anything you don't like you don't have to eat it, ok?" Mia smiled down at the small girl who now had a little on her plate of everything.

"Thank you very much, Mia and Dom. It all smells so good!" She smiled at both of them.

"Don't just smell it." Dom laughed handing her a fork. "Dig in." The girl took a bite of the chicken and dropped the remaining leg right away.

"What's wrong?" Dom and Mia asked worriedly. They had both been watching her closely to see her reaction. With their fearful question the rest of the team finally noticed little Alex.

"Nothing, It's just… chicken is so good!" She said with a large smile before taking another bite. Dom and Mia immediately relaxed and Mia gave Brian's hand a reassuring squeeze as he had gone tense seeing Mia's worry.

"Wait, you've never had chicken before?" Leon asked in amazement. He was so focused on Alexis he didn't realize Dom was giving him an evil glare telling him to shut up.

"Well, no." She answered anxious about being the center of attention.

"Where the hell have you been?" Vince asked harshly.

"Vince!" Dom chastised loudly making Alexis jump. Dom realized his mistake and lowered his voice. "Look, everyone pay attention. We have a guest, now keep yourself in check, or I'll put you in check." He said looking around the table but everyone knew he really had two people in mind. "Understood?" He asked looking at Letty and Vince. He was answered with a chorus of yeses and head nods but Letty didn't say anything. Dom continued to stare her down before she gave a curt head nod. "Good." He then continued to eat which was everyone else's cue to start eating as well.

"I just got one question!" Leon said after a few moments of silence. Dom gave him a warning look but didn't stop him. "Have you ever had chocolate before?" All eyes suddenly went from Leon to Alex in curiosity.

Alex bit her lip. "What's that?" Everyone looked on in astonishment.

"Jesse let's go!" Leon jumped up with his keys already in hand.

"Wait why?" Alexis didn't want them to leave just because she was a freak that didn't know whatever chocolate was.

"'Cause, you need to know what chocolate is!" They rushed off with everyone laughing at Jesse who grabbed a piece of chicken for the road. Once everyone started to eat again Alex looked to Mia and whispered.

"What's chocolate?" Mia gave her a smile thinking of how to describe it.

"It's the closest thing to heaven you'll get while still above ground." She finally answered smiling wistfully. That just seemed to confuse her more.

"What's heaven?" Dom shook his head angry at whoever had put this girl through so much hell.

"The furthest place from wherever you came from." Dom said angrily but it made Alex smile.

"I think I'd like to go there." Dom smiled with her.

"One day you will, just not anytime soon, ok?" The girl nodded her head but was still confused. Dom reached over to ruffle her hair but saw Alex wince. Dom gave her a small smile and slowly reached his hand out to ruffle her hair again. Alex, seeing that Dom wasn't going to hurt her actually gave a little laugh. Mia smiled at Dom happy that she was becoming more comfortable around them.

The entire table talked as always and ate their fill. Alex ate a little of everything and loved every bite, however because of her shrunken stomach she was too full to eat as much as she wanted. "Mia, it was all so wonderful! Thank you again!" Alex said with more enthusiasm than she'd exhibited all day. The girls were in the kitchen washing dishes while the boys and Letty were looking through the movies.

"I'm glad you like it." Mia chuckled handing her a glass to dry. As Alex took the glass a loud bang was heard throughout the house. Alex jumped spinning around to find the noise.

"Alex, it's okay, it was just the guys slamming the door." Mia said calmly touching Alex's shoulder. Alex was breathing heavy and it seemed that the slight easy going demeanor was gone. "Are you okay?" Mia asked after she noticed that Alex was breathing steadier. Alex simply nodded.

"Hey, everything okay?" Dom asked entering the kitchen. "I heard something break." It was then that Alex noticed that she had dropped the glass she was holding in her fright.

"Oh my god." Alex dropped to her knees picking up the pieces. "I'm so sorry, Sir." Alex was shaking so bad that the pieces that she was picking up were falling out of her hands making thin cuts. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." The young girl said over and over again. Mia looked at Dom not knowing what to do. Dom motioned for her to leave them.

"Hey, hey," Dom asked slowly walking up to the girl. "It's okay." He said gently reaching down to touch her shoulders. The girl jumped and let out a silenced scream as his hands came in contact with her.

"Please, I'm sorry Sir. Please don't." Dom gently lifted her head up.

"Breath, Alex." He commanded softly. The girl took a shaky breath feeling light headed. "It's okay, Alex. You're okay. No one's going to hurt you." Alex looked up at him with tear filled eyes, waiting for him to strike.

"Come on." He touched her upper arms to help her stand but stopped when he heard her wince. Dom looked down and saw bits of the glass embedded into her legs. He cursed under his breath as he saw the blood pooling down her legs. Alex started to sway and he tightened his grip on her. He looked at her face that was growing paler by the second and realized that because of her weakened state that the small blood lose was taking a large toll on her.

"We gotta get you to a hospital!" Alex went frantic as if trying to get away from him saying things that were barely comprehensible. He understood though, whatever she was running from might be able to track her that way. "Okay, okay, no hospital." She stilled in his arms and he knew that he had to get into action.

He quickly picked her up and carried her through the living room. "Dom, what's wrong?" Mia asked following him up stairs.

"I need towels, bandages, tweezers, and some peroxide, now!" Mia didn't have to be told twice and she was getting everything that they'd need. Dom entered the bathroom after Mia and gently laying her down on the large counter.

"Alex, come on stay with me." He gently shook her has he laid her down. Mia was handing him a towel and putting one under her head. "Alex, can out count?" Dom didn't know why he asked but he did and Alex finally answered yes. "Good, good, how high can you count?" Alex was fighting to keep her head above the surface as she was asked, just trying to stay conscience. "Come on baby girl, count for me." And just as he asked her to Alex started counting. Dom got to work cleaning away the blood and picking out all the small pieces of glass.

"17…18…19…2" Dom looked up worrying.

"20…21" Dom filled in for her.

"22…23…" Dom continued with cleaning out the injury while he listened to her count. There were a few times when she'd skip a number or go backwards in her dizzy state but she kept counting just as Dom instructed. By the time she got to fifty he'd cleaned wound and wrapped.

"Mia?" She was waiting by the door for Dom's next orders. "I need you to grab some orange juice, something high in sugar, and one of your vitamins that has B12." She nodded and ran off as Dom turned to look at the small girl. She was still counting but it was barely audible as she was struggling to stay awake.

"Just a little longer hon." Dom said sitting her up. He decided that since she was cleaned up he could move her into one of the rooms. The spare room was right across the hall and right next door to Dom's so that any guest would think twice before doing anything stupid. He picked her up again but this time he was able to realize how light she was. She was small, too small like a delicate china doll that would break if dropped. He sat her up on the bed and waited.

Mia saw the light on and came in with her arms full and slightly out of breath. Dom took the cup of juice and the vitamins from Mia putting the pills into his hand. "Come on, you gotta open up and drink these pills down." Alex's eyes fluttered open as the glass was pressed to her lips. Dom tipped the glass back slightly and stopped as Alex choked it down. It woke her up more and she was able to take down the pills.

"Here try this." Mia handed Dom a sugar cookie. Just then there was a loud crash from down stairs.

"Go ahead. I'll come back down if anything's changed." Mia flew down the stairs demanding to know what was going on and to keep it down. There were choruses of sorry before and the noise level dropped considerably.

Dom sat on the bed with Alex so he could hold her up and help her eat. He took off a small chunk of the cookie and put it to her chapped lips. Her mouth opened minutely and he was able to slip a piece in. "You gotta chew, Alex." Again seemingly without conscience Alex did exactly as instructed. Dom noticed that her lips gave a very slight twitch upwards. "You like that?" Alex made a noise that sounded like an agreement. Dom smiled as he took off another piece and didn't have to tell her to chew. Slowly the cookie was eaten and there was nothing more they could do, but he saw that she was getting color back into her cheeks.

"You're gonna be okay." He didn't know if he was saying it for his benefit or for hers but he had to say it out loud. She gave him a weak agreement which made him smile. Sure she was sick and weak physically, but this little girl who more than likely weighed less than ninety pounds soaking wet was a fighter. "Okay, you can rest now." Before Dom could even tuck her into bed she was asleep, as if she was just waiting for him to give her permission. He frowned when he realized that everything she had done was just following orders. Some men liked that in a woman, Dom wasn't one of those men. He surrounded himself with strong women like his sister and Letty. And even though Letty could be too strong willed, he'd still have that over someone who didn't know how to have an opinion of their own.

He shook his head as he wondered about the torment that this poor girl had to go through. He made sure she was situated with more juice on the bedside table before turning out the lights and going down stairs. The others weren't watching a movie like normal, instead they were sitting around talking about the new girl.

"Who the hell is she?" Letty bit out.

"She's Vince's sandwich thief." Dom said once he got to the bottom of the stairs.

"And you're letting that little bitch stay here?" Dom turned his glare onto Vince. "I'm just saying man, what if she steals something else?" Dom reached into his back pocket and pulled out the note that Alex had left and gave it to Vince.

"What the hell is this?" He asked after reading it.

"She came back to the diner and was going to leave this with an envelope full of change to pay for the sandwich that she stole." Mia explained. Vince turned the page around so the others could see the crude handwriting.

"She wrote this?" Letty asked taking the note from Vince. "What is she mentally retarded or something?"

Dom glared back and Letty. "No," He took a breath to make himself be easy. "I don't think she's ever stepped foot inside a school." They looked him like he was crazy.

"I don't know if she's ever been outside her house before." Mia agreed.

"How is that even possible?" Leon asked.

"You heard her, she's never eaten any of the food we had, she's never even heard of chocolate and I took her on her first car ride today, EVER." Mia nodded as the group gave her shocked looks.

"Listen up." Dom called the attention back on himself. "I know we've taken some people in before, but Alex is going to be different. It's pretty obvious that she'd been abused at least most her life, she's near starving and afraid of pretty much everything. Guys she doesn't like anyone touching her much so keep it clean and slow. She doesn't understand sarcasm so keep it to a minimum. And you're going to have to be patient with her and explain what things are and how things work."

"So basically we're babysitting." Vince smarted off.

"She needs our help. If you can't follow these simple instructions, there's the door!" Dom pointed behind him.

"No, we'd love to help." Brian said always the enthusiast. "Right guys?" Leon and Jesse said there agreements while Letty nodded her head.

"Good." Dom finished with force. "Now it's been a long day, and tomorrows not looking too much better, I say we get to bed." They all mumbled to themselves but Jesse and Leon went downstairs to the basement while Letty went into her room off the living room. Mia and Brian went upstairs to their shared room which left Vince staring down Dom.

"You sure about this, Dom?" Dom looked at his brother.

"Let me ask you something, you remember being hungry? I mean really hungry, like when you were a kid and your dad spent the grocery money on booze?" Vince glared at him for bringing up the memories. "That girl has experienced more hunger and more pain in her life than I can even imagine. So the next time you want to kick her to the curb, just remember who used to share their lunch with you at recess." With those words Dom turned and walked back upstairs. He heard Vince curse as he stomped out the door. His car roared to life as he drove down the street to escape his demons.

**Well, there's chapter 2. I hope you guys are liking it, please let me know. :)**

**I'd also like to give a BIG thanks to the 3 people that are following the story:**

**KK8KK89981001, EMyra, and caleb's babe. You guys are awesome! Thanks again everyone for reading, let me know what you think. **


	3. Shadows in the dark

**Hi guys, thanks for reading the third chapter of The Runaway! Hope you enjoy.**

Dom had just gotten into his room, threw off his shirt and changed into a pair of sweats when he heard something in the next room over. He left his room quickly to make sure that Alexis was okay. He knocked on the door gently and he heard a noise but there was no answer.

"Alex?" He asked opening the door slowly. The room was nearly pitch black and Dom couldn't see her anywhere. He turned on the light but her bed was empty. "Alexis!" Dom called out louder. It was then that he saw her blonde head poke out from behind the bed.

"Dom?" She asked half dazed as if not really seeing him. He walked to her and knelt beside her.

"Alex, what's wrong?" Alexis looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"I thought I was back there." She whispered as if she spoke it too loudly it'd come true.

"Alex, you never have to go back there again." Dom said solemnly. "You can stay here as long as you like, and you'll be protected, I'll protect you." And with that promise Alex launched herself into his arms. Dom was shocked at first but then wrapped his strong arms around her thin frame.

For the first time in her life, Alex felt safe. She knew those arms that were wrapped around her were in fact going to keep her from any harm, keep her away from _them_. It took her a few minutes to compose herself and pull back from him, but Dom waited patiently for her. He rocked her gently and rubbed her back. When she finally pulled her face from his chest she smiled up at him and it changed the way she looked. For the first time since he'd seen her, she looked pretty.

"That smiles a good look on you." Dom smirked as the young girl blushed. "Come on, you've had a rough day." Dom easily picked her up from their seated position and placed her on the bed. It was then Dom noticed that she was still wearing the sweater and dress. "You want something more comfortable to sleep in?"

"I'm fine." She was sincere in the fact that she was okay with wearing the dress but she'd be more comfortable in something else and Dom could tell.

"Wait here, I'll get you one of my shirts." He turned to leave but was stopped.

"Um, Dom." He turned back to her curiously. "Do you have a long sleeve one?" Dom had to think, he lived in LA, why would he need a long sleeve shirt? But the innocent look on her face, and the cute way she cocked her head to the side made him determined to find one.

"Give me a second, I'll see what I can find." She nodded with a smile on her face. Dom had to do some digging in his dresser before he found a cotton long sleeve shirt that he was sure would swallow her whole. He walked into the next room throwing her the shirt.

"Thanks Dom." The girl said holding up the shirt that would nearly come to her knees. She looked up at him, and Dom noticed for the first time she actually looked in his eyes. "For everything." Dom reached out and ruffled her hair. She still winced a bit, but it was more out of instinct instead of thinking that Dom was actually going to hurt her.

"Sleep tight, kid." Dom said walking to the door, he was about to close it when he was stopped again.

"Dom?" He turned back to her. "Can you leave the door open?" Dom bit his lip hesitant about leaving it open with all the guys in the house. They all where downstairs and he was sure they wouldn't hurt her, but he still wasn't sure. "It's too dark in here." She looked over her shoulder where the only window was covered by a tree that left shadowy fingers clawing through the cracks. Dom nodded his head and left the door open.

"Okay, Goodnight." Dom consented walking next door.

"Good night." He heard the little voice say. "Sleep tightly." Dom smiled shaking his head at the way she said it wrong. And then Dom stopped wondering if this girl had ever had anyone tuck her in before. He decided that he was going to tuck her in properly like he used to with his little sister. As he turned back to the open door though he had to take a step back.

Alexis was standing by the bed with her back to him. She had taken the sweater and dress off and was now in a plain pair of white underwear with no bra. Normally this would be any guy's fantasy, but as Dom's eyes took in her form he only got angry. Dom knew she was skinny, but the girl before him was all skin and bones. He could clearly see her spine without her having to stretch and he could count each rib. But the hardest part for Dom to get over was the scars. Her back was completely covered in angry white scars. Some were faded, some were fresh, but they marked her otherwise smooth skin. Dom's eyes took in the rest of her to look for more but they seemed to all be carefully on her back to be easily hidden, except for two.

Dom's fist balled up tight and closed his eyes as he saw two fresh scars over her left and right wrist. Dom wasn't an emotional guy, unless you count his anger, but even that he made sure to keep in check. But as he thought of this poor girl lying in a pool of her own blood begging to die just so she could be out of her own misery he felt unshed angry, sorrowful, tears fill his eyes. He tough of his little sister just down the hall and how much pain she could endure before that would even be a possibility. But Mia and Alexis were two completely different people. Mia would always have Dom there to protect her, even if she did get in trouble she'd know he'd be there to rescue her, no matter the danger. Who did Alexis have? Would the people that had her come looking for her? It was then that he decided he didn't care, he'd hunt them all down if he had to just to keep Alexis safe.

"Dom?" Dom opened his eyes to see Alex standing next to him. He was so much taller she had to crane her neck up slightly. He was right about his shirt, she had it rolled several times at the sleeve and her scared wrists were still hidden. "Are you okay?" Dom gave her a sad smile shaking his head. After all this girl had to go through, she was asking him if he was okay.

"Yeah, I just forgot something." He went into the closet and pulled out a small box. Out of the box he took out a small porcelain cross with angelic children kneeling next to it. He plugged it into the wall and the glow from it covered the room without making it blinding. Alexis gently traced the cross.

"What is that?" She asked innocently.

"It was Mia's. When she was little she was afr.." Dom stopped himself not wanting her to think any less of herself. "She didn't like the dark, either. So my dad bought her this night light." She smiled at Dom and looked at his chest.

"It's just like yours." She reached out and gently traced his cross necklace just like she'd done to the light. Dom sucked in a breath as her small fingers softly cascaded down his chest.

"Yeah, just like mine." He said a bit strained. He cleared his throat and continued. "It'll help keep you safe." The girl nodded up at him and crawled back into bed. Dom pulled the blankets over her and gently kissed her forehead. Alex pulled back not sure what was going on. "I'm guessing your mom never kissed you good night?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"I don't have a mom." The girl said quietly.

"What about your dad?" He didn't want to pry, but he did want to know more about her.

"Yeah, he kissed me at night." As she said it though, Dom knew she didn't mean a fatherly kiss goodnight. Alexis pulled the blankets up to her chin as if trying to block out the memories. Dom sighed and left the room pulling the door closed behind him. At least she didn't ask him to keep it open this time.

**Well, that's chapter 3! I hope you all liked it. I want to thank all the people that reviewed, followed and/or favored me! **

**Caleb's babe, Em-x, chaos angel, ElysiumPhoenix, sixandstones18, Nikollette 11, and Stacey73 you guys rock! Thank you for the support, and I really hope you liked this one too. Oh disclaimer: I don't own anything except Alex.**


	4. Fitting in?

Alex woke up surprised at her feeling of alertness. She'd heard someone once say they felt 'refreshed' Alex had no idea what that meant at the time, but now as she stretched her arms up over her head she was beginning to understand. She heard noises coming from downstairs and for once was excited to see what the day held. She crawled out of the bed and opened the door and nearly ran into Vince who was coming out of the bathroom. Vince smirked down at her eyeing Dom's shirt.

"Sleep well?" Alex still wasn't sure if she liked Vince, and with the look he was giving her it made her take a step back.

"Yes, Sir." She answered timidly, head down making sure not to make eye contact. He shook his head as he stepped closer to her.

"What are you doing here?" Alex took a step back but ran into the door frame. The question ran around and around her mind. _What am I doing here?_ Alex really didn't know. "Well?" He wasn't going to leave without an answer.

"Dom and Mia invited me." She answered meekly.

"Well make sure you don't over stay your welcome." Vince warned. Alex nodded her head vigorously. She was still looking down at the ground so she didn't see that Dom stepped out of his room.

"There a problem here?" Alex looked up at Dom only to look back down again.

"No problem, right Alex?" Vince smiled. Alex nodded in agreement. "We were just getting to know each other a little better." He reached out to ruffle her hair as Dom had done before but Alex jumped back from him and Dom let out a light growl. Vince looked at his friend questioningly before putting his hands up and going back down stairs.

"You okay?" Dom asked stepping closer to her. She nodded her head again but wouldn't look at him. Dom sighed thinking about how many steps back she'd taken. "Come on, Mia said she put some clothes out for you." He guided her down the hall but made sure not to touch her. Mia's room was open and a pair of jeans and a t-shirt was laid out on the bed for her.

"Um, I'll be right back." Alex shot out of the room before he could say anything and was back again but this time was wearing her thick black bracelets again on each arm. It was then Dom realized she used the bracelets to cover her scars.

Alex smiled as she picked up the clothes. "Oh no!" She exclaimed looking at the jeans.

"What's wrong?" Dom asked after he couldn't see anything wrong with them.

"Mia has holes in her jeans. I can fix them, I know how." Dom smiled at Alex's eagerness to help.

"Well, that's actually how they're supposed to be." Dom tried explaining.

"Why?" Dom laughed at her completely confused expression. "I'm serious, why would you pay money for clothes already ripped?" That just made Dom laugh harder.

"Do I look like a fashion expert?" Alex ran her eyes down Dom's body and while his wife beater and jeans wouldn't be in Paris fashion week, he could certainly be a model. Dom smirked at her look but decided he wouldn't say anything about it, she seemed to have shaken off her encounter with Vince and didn't need her taking any more steps backwards.

"Breakfast's ready!" Mia called from downstairs. There was a large commotion that sounded like a stampede but Dom didn't say anything so Alex figured it was normal.

"Come eat once you're done getting changed." Alex nodded as Dom closed the door behind him to give her some privacy. He didn't need a repeat of last night, especially if Vince was still around. What is it with him anyways? Dom thought. Sure the girl stole his sandwich but he seemed to think having her here was a bad idea. Ever since the Brian episode he tended to trust Vince's instincts more, but he just couldn't wrap his head around what could make him so opposed to them helping her.

"Morning bro." Mia smiled kissing him on the cheek. Dom chuckled, she must have been in a good mood she'd made enough food to feed an army. "What? I didn't know what she'd like." Mia said defensively as Dom looked around at the French toast, pancakes, hash browns, eggs, sausage, bacon, coffee, hot chocolate, and tea.

Alex came down the stairs and stopped as the smells hit her all at once. "Mmmhhh, Mia it smells so good." Mia excitedly ushered her to sit and placed a plate of food which again had a little of everything. Alex looked and saw that everyone was looking at her waiting to see if she liked it. She hesitantly took a bite of scrambled eggs.

"So, do you like it?" Mia asked before Alex could swallow. Alex smiled and nodded with her mouth still filled with eggs. A small cheer went up from Leon, Jesse, and Brian; Alex laughed along with them. Alexis had laughed twice and it wasn't even 8 o'clock, Alexis couldn't remember ever laughing before.

"Move it, Mia!" Leon in his excitement pushed Mia out from in front of Alexis. He had a big coffee cup in his hand. "Okay since you didn't get to eat any chocolate last night, I decided some hot chocolate would do you some good." He handed her the large steaming mug and she sniffed it suspiciously. "It's not poisoned, it's hot chocolate." Leon laughed. Alex still gave Dom a questioning look to which he nodded.

"Just blow on it first, it's hot." Dom warned. Alexis did as instructed and took a tentative sip. Suddenly her taste buds were overwhelmed with the delicious new taste that was chocolate. The heat ran down her throat and through her chest and she felt herself melt into her seat with a content sigh. Just as the warm was about to leave she took a large gulp.

"Is all chocolate this good?" She asked Leon smiling.

"And better! I've got so many different types chocolate in the fridge for you to try it's going to make you sick." Everyone laughed and Leon felt proud that he was able to share something with her. After breakfast the boys and Letty left for the shop and Mia and Alex straightened up.

"Hey Alex, you wanna come to the restaurant with me? It's boring but it'd be better than being stuck here all day." Alex smiled at Mia.

"Sure! Can I help you too?" Mia smiled at the girl's enthusiasm.

"Sure thing, I'll have you running that place before you know it." The girls laughed and Mia threw arm over the girl's shoulders and was happy that Alex didn't shy away.

"Oh, Mia I forgot!" Alex said stopping before they could get to the door. "Your jeans have holes in them. I can fix them for you if you want."

"Well, there kinda supposed to be ripped like that." She said feeling like an idiot for wearing torn clothes.

"Oh, well that's what Dom said, but I didn't think he was right." She said scratching the back of her neck. Mia laughed.

"Yeah, it's better to come to me for fashion advice. Otherwise you'll be in wife beaters and jeans."

"You can have my ripped clothes if you want." Alex laughed. Mia was shocked for a second.

"Did you just make a joke?" Alex stopped and thought about it.

"Yeah, I guess I did." The girls laughed hard.

"We're rubbing off on you already!" Mia said happily putting her arm over her shoulders.

The two laughed as they walked out the door and made their way to the restaurant. Mia kept the radio off so they could talk and laugh. She explained things to the girl and she could tell that Alex was actually listening and trying to absorb everything around her. Mia went a little faster this time since Alex told her that she liked it, and like a little kid at an amusement park Alex couldn't stop laughing.

"You're going to love driving with Dom!" Mia laughed. The excitement from Alex was contagious. She was like a little kid in so many ways. The day went about the same, Mia would show her how to do something and the girl instantly picked it up. She stayed away from the customers since she still didn't know how to interact with people as well, but anything that Mia needed Alex to do she just had to show her and the young girl would perfect it.

"So she steal all the sandwiches yet, huh?" Alex winced as she turned and saw Letty. While the others had included her, or in Vince's case frightened her, Letty had done well to stay away from her but she made it obvious she didn't like her being there.

"Oh, hi Letty." Alex said a little nervously.

"We need to talk." She said coming behind the counter.

"Letty." Mia said in a warning tone watching Alex step back from her.

"Look, you and Dom need to stop with the whole over protecting thing. How is she going to ever be normal if she has you two going all mama bear whenever anyone looks at her wrong?" Letty wasn't yelling, she was just being assertive. Alex realized that she kind of admired that, she wanted to be more like that.

"It's okay, Mia." Alex said interrupting the girls stare down. Letty gave Mia a patronizing smile.

"Yeah it's okay, Mia." She turned back to Alex and walked her to the alleyway behind the restaurant.

"What do you want with Dom and Mia?" Letty asked before the door even closed behind them. Alex was caught off guard by the question.

"I… I don't know." Letty nodded as if expecting the answer.

"Did you know who they were before you showed up here?" She asked staring down the smaller girl. Alex shook her head.

"So you've never heard of Dom before? Never seen him race?"

"Race?" Alex was clueless as to what Letty was talking about.

"Yeah race, he races cars."

"Like, he tries to drive faster than the other cars?" Letty shook her head at the ignorance of this girl. She wasn't a racer chaser. She wasn't faking any of it to get a hand out. She really was in trouble. Letty felt a pang of guilt that she'd been so rough with the girl, if she was being honest it probably was a bit of jealousy at the way Dom looked at her. But whatever emotions were going through Letty she didn't let them show. As Letty was trying to figure everything out Alex couldn't hold her stare and she ended up looking down at her feet as she was always taught to do.

"Enough of that." Letty snapped. Alex flinched at the words especially since she didn't know what she was supposed to be doing wrong. Alex looked up at Letty but quickly looked away from her stern look. She sighed and reached over and jerked Alex's chin up. "Look, if you're going to be tagging along with us you have to stop cowering down all the time. No one at the house is going to hurt you and we aren't going to let anyone else hurt you either, got it?"

Alex nodded her head looking down before she realized that she was still doing as she was trained. She looked back up at Letty who was cocking her eye brow giving her a look that said she was hopeless. "I mean, yeah." Alex said standing a bit straighter. Letty gave her a little smirk.

"Better." She turned and walked back into the store with Alex following behind her. Letty went back to the garage saying she had to get back before Dom realized she wasn't there. Mia didn't know what Letty had said to Alex but it seemed like Alex was trying to be more outgoing. No one else would see it that way, they'd still see a timid little girl, but she wasn't shying away when a guy came near.

"She even glared at some pervert who said something to her!" Mia told Dom clearly proud of her. Dom was sitting at the bar instead his "cage" and he was eating some fries.

"What'd he say?" He asked Alex.

"Nothing worth repeating." She said setting up the fryer for another batch of fries. If it was Letty or Mia he'd push it but with Alex he just have to wait.

"Wow, you caught on quick. Seems like you'll be running the place in no time." Dom smiled as Alex put the towel over her shoulder.

"I may be slow, but show me how to do something and I'll be able to figure it out." Alex smiled. "So what are you doing for the rest of the day?" Alex asked Dom.

"Some idiot blew his intake manifold gasket by overheating his engine trying to show off for some girl. He took a turn with more toque than his chassis could handle, nearly totaled it. So that's going to take up most of my time." Alex gave him a completely perplexed look. "You have no idea what I just said did you?"

"Not in the least." Alex said with a straight face. "But I'd like to learn." She smiled.

"Mia, I'm kidnapping Alex!" Dom bellowed so Mia could hear him in the back. She came to the front crossing her arms.

"Fine, whatever, just leave me then." Mia said dramatically. Alex was about to tell Mia that she'd stay but saw that she was fighting a smile and Dom was rolling his eyes shaking his head. Mia was playing with her.

"Oh, Mia I know you love me, but you're going to have learn to share." Mia stole the towel off Alex's shoulder.

"Oh get out of here!" She snapped the towel at Alex's butt. Alex let out a little yelp as she jumped over the counter and ran behind Dom so he was blocking her from Mia. Mia stuck her tongue out like a little kid to which Alex returned even though she didn't know why.

"Okay, okay battle's over." Dom announced spinning Alex around and walking out the door with her in tow. Mia laughed as she saw the weird pair walking to the car. Dom was massive in height and muscle where little Alex barely came to his chest and was so thin that she looked like a junky.

However if Alex kept eating the way she did she'd be a healthy weight soon. Leon and Jesse had made it their duty to find foods that Alex hadn't eaten before -which really wasn't hard- and share them with her. Today she'd eaten a burrito from a restaurant down the street, a bag of chips, a soda, a candy bar, and a basket of fries which she said she wouldn't be able to eat by herself so she spilt them with Dom.

Mia was brought out of her thoughts of junk food as she heard Dom burn out and she could faintly hear Alex's laughter. As different as she was from the rest of the group she seemed to fit in well. Mia looked at her stack of books and sighed. Without Alex there to distract her she was going to have to actually study.


	5. The Garage and the Fight

**Hey guys! This chapter is a little longer, I just couldn't break it up! Hope you enjoy and have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!**

Dom looked down at the small girl in the passenger seat who had a smile on her face. Any time he'd take a turn with even the smallest amount of speed she'd go into a fit of giggles.

"So besides Mia you've never ridden in a car?" Dom asked her.

"No, never." She answered honestly. She had been looking out the window at the fast moving scenery but now looked over at him with a question in her eyes.

"When was the first time you ever rode in a car?" Dom choked back a laugh.

"Uh probably from the hospital home." Alex gave an excited gasp which made Dom swerve a bit before gaining control. "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just realized you're right! They had to bring me home somehow!" She had a large smile on her face and Dom couldn't figure out what was so special about being brought home but she seemed pretty proud of it.

"Okay, I think I'm missing something." Dom gave her a look that asked her to explain.

"Oh, um, nothing. Just making a big deal about nothing." She gave a small laugh trying to brush it off but Dom saw through her. He wanted to push her for more but didn't want to scare her off. He just hope she'd open up to one of them soon, was it weird that he wanted it to be him? He loved his family, but sometimes there crap could be too much to handle and he just wanted the responsibility off his shoulders. As Dom looked down at the small girl though he realized he wanted to be her confidant, he wanted to be the one that she was able to tell anything to. He wanted to be her friend.

He was just about to pull into the shop when he realized she wasn't smiling anymore. Without warning he floored the gas pedal flying into an open area before he quickly yanked the e-brake throwing the car into a pristine slide. The others came out when they heard the squealing of the tires.

"Dom, what the hell are you doing?" Letty asked with her arms on the driver side door. It was then she heard a noise she looked to the passenger side and saw Alex bent over laughing. Dom smiled up at Letty giving her a shrug. Letty rolled her eyes trying to hide the smile creeping onto her lips.

"Can we do that again?" Dom reached over and ruffled her windswept hair.

"Later hun, right now we've got work to do." Alex was still smiling as she jumped out of the car. She admired the new tire tracks that now marred the parking lot.

"Hey Dom?" She asked jogging to match his pace. "Why do the tires make the marks like that?"

"Well," Dom was about to go into a detailed telling of how tire tread works when he stopped. "How about I just show you another time." Alex smiled up at him.

"Sounds like a date." Dom laughed, she was catching onto their sayings and she wasn't messing them up as much.

"Hey, I need to work something out but why don't you hang out with Jesse, he's gonna ask you some questions okay?" She smiled nodding up at Dom and walked over to Jesse's work station. Dom was busy with the show offs car that he didn't realize how much time had gone by before he heard Jesse calling.

"Um, Dom. Dominic!" Jesse sounded a bit scared. Dom quickly slid out from under the car and walked to Jesse's computer.

"What's…" Dom stopped as he saw Alex in a chair with her knees pulled up to her chest, her hands covering her ears, eyes clenched shut as tight as possible, and she was mumbling something to herself over and over again. "What happened?" He was trying not to yell and make things worse but he was starting to lose his cool. Before he'd sent her off she was smiling and laughing and now she was in a fetal position and looked like she was one phone call away from the mental intuition.

"I don't know, Dom." Jesse said a bit panicky. "I was just asking her questions like you asked and she didn't know a lot and I asked her for her date of birth and she started zoning out next thing I know she's like this!"

"Okay, I got her." He motioned with his head to get out before he gently approached her. He got down on his knees so they were nearly the same height. He wanted to take her hands in his but thought better of it.

"Alexis?" Alex flinched but otherwise didn't move. Dom noticed that she stopped muttering to herself though. "Alex, it's Dom." Dom realized that she wasn't holding her head together as if it was about to break apart. "Alex, baby? It's okay." That's when Dom heard a sob, her defenses where dropping. Dom slowly and gently took her hands away from her head and put them into his hands. Dom stayed quiet as he rubbed her hands in his. Slowly Alex opened her eyes and looked into his. "You okay, hun?" Alex gave a quiet sigh while nodding her head. It was obvious that she wasn't okay, but at least now she was coherent.

"What happened?" Alex shook her head telling him she didn't want to answer. "We'll talk about it later, okay?" Alex hesitated but nodded knowing she'd have to tell them everything sooner or later if she was going to be living there. "Want me to have someone drive you home?" Alex looked up at him and finally spoke.

"You said I could watch you and learn about cars." Alex quickly looked down and bit her lip. "Unless you don't want me to anymore."

"Alex-" Dom was interrupted as Alex stood still shaking a bit.

"No, it's okay Dom. You've been so nice and I couldn't repay you for how wonderful you and your family has been." Dom stood now so he was looking down at Alex and noticed she had tears in her eyes that she was fighting to keep at bay. "I understand you wanting me to not be around me. I know I am weird-"

"Alex." He said firmer to stop her rant. She'd probably said more in that one breath than she'd had the entire time she'd been with them. It was as if it had been rehearsed, like she was just waiting for them to kick her to the curb. "Alex, if you want to learn I'll show you. I just thought you might have been a little shook up."

"Shook up?" She questioned not understanding. Dom sighed knowing only one way to say it.

"Afraid." Alex nodded looking down.

"You're right." Alex said finally. "I am afraid." She looked up at Dom with a look that he hadn't seen on her before. "But I don't want to be afraid anymore." Dom smirked at the determination in her voice. This was the girl he'd seen deep down in her soul. This was the girl that had gone through hell and fought her way out. This was the girl that was living on scraps to get by and yet still felt guilty for stealing a lousy sandwich. This was the girl that had to struggle for everything. This was his fighter.

"Come on, we'll make a grease monkey out of you yet." He said throwing his arm around her shoulder.

"Grease monkey?" Dom shrugged.

"Don't ask me where it came from." Alex saw Jesse shuffling awkwardly from side to side waiting to be able to use his space again. Alex gave him a small smile.

"Sorry about that Jesse. I didn't mean to go freaky." She said looking down out her feet.

"Don't sweat it. You're okay though right?" Alex grabbed her hands together to try and hide the shaking. She gave him a small smile and nodded more vigorously than she intended to overcompensate, her stomach doing somersaults. Dom noticed the shaking but didn't say anything, instead he maneuvered her through the garage to the car he'd been working on.

"Well here it is." He motioned to the car he was working on "This is Hector's baby, which he practically killed!"

"What is it?" Dom noticed that she wasn't shaking anymore and smirked. It seemed she was calmer when it just the two of them.

"She's a 1992 Honda Civic. Hector's put a lot of time into her, and money into my pocket." She smiled up at him as she circled the car.

"The outside looks okay." She said as she looked at the shiny, greenish, gold color. There were a few minute scratches and dings but nothing bad at all.

"You of all people should know." Dom started before he popped the hood. "It's what's on the inside that can mess you up." She gave Dom a questioning look before he shook his head smiling and pulled her over to look under the hood. He had his arm around her shoulder and she was tucked into his side. Alexis' first reaction wasn't to pull back and that scared her, as she looked up at Dom though all of her fears melted away. She wasn't worried about _them, _she wasn't worried about anyone hurting her. Dom wouldn't hurt her, and he'd do whatever he could to protect her.

"Darling," Alexis snapped out of her thoughts. "You're supposed to be looking at the engine." Dom gave a smirk as he watched Alex's cheeks turn a vivid red. He'd caught her staring at him, but it wasn't the normal checking out that he was use to from girls, this seemed deeper, purer.

Aside from the few times that Alex had seen the boys tinkering with their engines and the few that were in the shop Alex had never seen an engine, even she could see though that this was not right. There were parts that seemed out of place, plastic pieces that seemed melted on, and wires that weren't connected to anything. Alex reached her hand in but stopped.

"Can I?" Dom knew she couldn't mess anything up so he shrugged. She gave him a smile, he actually trusted that she wouldn't destroy it, she wasn't use to that. Usually she was being told she was wrong before she made a move. She reached in again and looked that everything. She traced the wires and saw where they had disconnected or in some places even ripped to shreds. Dom watched as her delicate fingers seemed to memorize the obliterated engine. She spent a few minutes under the hood before coming back for air.

"So you said the engine heatedover, right?"

"Overheated." Dom corrected.

"Right, overheated." Alex said firmly as if to burn it into memory. Dom nodded, seeing the gears spinning in her head. "So because the engine overheated it made this thingy." She pointed to the head gasket. "Break that's what made it all broken?" Dom smiled at the simplicity of her explanation.

"Pretty much. You see, this thingy here is your head gasket." From there Dom explained what the head gaskets purpose is and how it works. It took a little longer to explain everything but the second that she saw how it was supposed to work she was able to understand.

"You're a visual person, huh?" Dom asked after she'd pretty much figured out how most everything works.

"I guess." Alex admitted. "Words confuse me. Sometimes a word means something but it can change to mean something else. And people have weird sayings which don't make a lot of sense." She paused. "And then there's sarcasm." She shook her head as if it was a foreign language. Dom smiled down at her.

"Don't sweat it-"

"Like that!" Alex said before he could continue. "Jesse said that before 'Don't sweat it'. What's it mean?"

"It means don't worry about it. You'll figure it all out." Dom smiled encouragingly. "And I can help you." He added when she didn't look too enthusiastic.

"You will?" She seemed skeptic.

"Yeah, if you ever don't understand anything just talk to me and we'll figure it out together, okay?" Dom didn't know what he was being so helpful. It's not like he was usually a dick or anything but he'd never put himself out this much for someone who wasn't family. He wondered what he was thinking but then he saw her little smile and he knew that he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Thank you, Dom." He nodded and looked away from her before he could start staring. "Dom?" He loved the way she said his name in such a gentle voice. There was nothing gentle about Dominic Toretto, but when she said his name he felt like a tamed tiger. Dangerous, yet controlled. But that was another difference between Alex and Letty. Letty always tried to control him, and to a point he let her; more so than anyone else. But Alex demanded nothing of him, and he wanted to give her everything he could. "Dom?" Dom realized he had been caught staring. _Damn it._

"Yeah?" He tried to sound nonchalant but he had a feeling he was failing.

"I know I have no right to ask you for anything else, but…" Dom motioned for her to continue. "Could you help me with something else?"

"What's that?"

"Once I'm better, could you make me strong?" Dom furrowed his brows.

"What do you mean? You know we aren't going to hurt you, and we'll protect you from other people too." Alex gave a small smile.

"I know," She said with complete conviction. She didn't doubt him in the least. "But I want to be able to protect me too." Dom gave her a proud smile but she didn't see it as she looked down. "I don't want to be stupid and weak anymore." She sounded so defeated. Dom gently lift her head so she was looking up at him.

"You're not stupid, and you're not weak." She gave him a weak smile that said she didn't believe him but it was nice of him to try. "But if you want to learn more, we can help. And if you want to be stronger, we'll help with that too."

"You will?" Dom nodded sincerely.

"But first you've got to get healthier." She nodded vigorously. "You're going to need to get some meat on you before we can get any muscle on you." She nodded again with a smile on her face. "But for now, we can still help you with your struggle with words."

"Thanks, Dominic." She said hugging him quickly. Her small arms could barely fit around his waist, and she let go so quick it was as if his skin burned her, but it was a step in the right direction.

"You really aren't stupid you know." She was sitting on a trunk of an old beater as he washed up for the day. Alex didn't say anything and instead let her legs swing as if she was a kid. "Alex." He said more firmly to get her to look at him, which she did so hesitantly.

"You aren't stupid. You may not speak as well as you'd like, but the way you can pick things up so quickly is amazing." Dom said with conviction.

"I don't know, maybe." She said as if she didn't think so at all. "But that's only if you show me how. I can't get it if someone tells me how to do it. It's like I don't think rightly."

"Just because you think differently than others doesn't mean you think wrong. So your listening and comprehension is a bit off, you're ability to retain what you see and what you do is incredible." He said with pride.

"You really think so?" She asked looking up at him with her head cocked to the side. Dom couldn't help but smile.

"Yes, I really think so." Alex looked down again but this time with a small smile and a slight blush dusted her cheeks. Dom thought she was incredible. _No_, she argued with herself. _Dom thinks something you did was incredible._ She corrected. Still it was more than she'd ever had before.

"Come on." He grabbed her from off of the car and place her on her feet. "Time to get going before Mia has a fit." Alex just realized that it had gotten dark and the others were already gone. Time seemed different when in the garage, it was like everything outside of it didn't matter. Or maybe that was just the way things were when she was with Dom. Dom made a promise to Alex that they would help her. And they did.

Week in and week out Alex worked hard with Mia and Brian to learn better English, spelling, reading, math, really just the basics. Dom worked with her on cars of course and since she was starting to gain some weight some slight defensive moves but mostly getting the hell out of the way if someone tried to grab her. Leon took it upon himself to teach her pop culture, which basically meant watching his favorite movies with her. Well the ones Dom deemed appropriate, he didn't want her watching anything too traumatizing. And yes, the team teased him relentlessly about being an over protective mother hen. Jess taught her everything he could about computers and of course car designs. They actually were able to communicate quiet well because Jesse understood learning disabilities. Even Letty was teaching Alex how to be a bad ass. Dom liked the idea of Alex standing up for herself, but kept reminding her not to change herself too much because he liked the sweet girl she was.

The only team member who wasn't taking out some time to help Alex was Vince. He wasn't glaring at her every time she entered the room, but that doesn't mean he was welcoming towards her. To Alex's credit she actually tried reaching out to him in her own way. She made him his favorite dinner, favorite dessert, would give him a small smile, she'd even pipe out a quiet hi now and then but no matter what she did Vince wasn't having it.

It was in one of those moments that she was trying to win him over that all hell broke loose. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Alex spun around so fast that she ended up falling. She had decided that she was going to clean Vince's room as a peace offering and was currently looking at his guitar. Looking, not touching, not cleaning, looking.

"Did you touch that?" He bellowed. Alex flinched and rapidly shook her head no. Vince walked closer and looked down at the girl who was trembling. "What are you doing in my room?" Alex tried to say something but she was too afraid to move. "Answer me." He growled.

"I'm, I'm sorry." She stuttered out. "I was just trying to clean."

"Clean me out is more like it! What did you take?" Alex finally looked up at him frowning.

"I didn't take anything."

"Don't you lie to me, you may have everyone else fooled but you can't pull the wool over my eyes! Now, what did you take you little thief?" Alex had lost her frightened look as he started yelling and now it was a full blown glare. She looked him straight in the eye and she stood up from the ground. Vince towered over the young girl but in that moment she didn't care.

"I told you I didn't take anything!" she growled out quietly trying to keep her cool.

"You little liar!" He grabbed onto her wrist, which made her bracelet bite into her flesh, and pushed her back into the wall. The grip on her wrist was painful but she refused to let him see it, just like Letty had taught her.

"I didn't steal anything!" She yelled now. She looked down at her wrist and took a deep breath. Dom had told her that no one had a right to touch her if she didn't want to be touched. She had worked breakaways with Dom she just had to focus. She grabbed a hold of his hand and before he could blink she had spun around and set herself free from him and was currently behind him.

"What the…"

"I told you I didn't take anything! Look!" Alex pulled her pockets inside out and showed them they were empty.

"What is going on in here?" Alex didn't look behind her as she heard Dom yell. She didn't jump in fright, she didn't tremble, instead she kept her glare on Vince. She breathed in and out to try and steady her beating heart. Dom had said no one was allowed to touch her.

"Alex?" Dom asked walking so he could look at both of them. Dom had never seen Alex like this before, she was absolutely seething. He didn't know Vince had done to get Alex so heated, but he wanted to kick his ass for it. Maybe later, right now his concern was for Alex.

"Alex, why don't we go upstairs?" Alex's eyes slid to Dom quickly before fixing her gaze back on Vince. Dom finally stepped between them facing Alex and breaking her visual. Alex took a deep breath and her shoulders slumped as if she was exhausted. She turned from the room and quickly left running up the stairs. "You and I are going to have a talk later." He told Vince without looking at him. Dom left the room slamming the door behind him. Vince slumped down onto his bed with his head in his hands. He was not looking forward to their little talk.

By the time Dom had gotten upstairs Alex was already pacing back and forth in the room biting her lip. Dom knew that it wasn't a good sign and sighed deeply, he didn't want any drama in the house, especially between his best friends and his- what was Alex to him? A friend? Why did the word seem so belittling? Dom shook his head, he'd figure it out later right now he had more important things to think about.

Dom sat on the bed watching her go back and forth before he reached out and caught her arm. She ripped her arm back and Dom was surprised at the glare that she sent him. She looked at him like she hated him, like the touch of him disgusted her. She looked at him as if he was a stranger, as if she was a stranger; and then in a blink of an eye Alex was back. She put her head into her hands and sobbed. Dom reached out to her again and pulled her onto his lap. She sobbed into his shoulder hating herself for it. Letty wouldn't be sitting in Dom's lap crying like a damsel in distress.

Once Alex had calmed down Dom finally spoke. "What happened?" Alex laid in Dom's arms with her head on his chest. She was too tired to get up, to worn out to look at him, and if she was being honest she simply liked being wrapped in his arms. She liked the warmth that radiated off of him, she liked the protection that his solid body gave, she liked the way he smelt of oil and Irish spring soap, she liked the rumble she could feel in his chest whenever he spoke, she liked she feeling that she belonged there.

"I didn't mean to fight with him. I just wanted to clean his room so he would get over the stupid sandwich." Alex mumbled into his chest.

"How did the fight start?" He asked gently.

"I was picking up his stuff and I saw that thing with the strings? Um…what did he call it?"

"His guitar?" Dom winced, knowing how much Vince loved that thing.

"Yeah that. I was just looking at it, I didn't touch it." Dom sighed, he couldn't figure out why Vince freaked. "Then the next thing I know he comes raining through yelling at me." Dom decided not to correct her this time, since she was heated. "He kept asking me what I took, he kept calling me a thief!" I'm not a thief, Dom!" She said finally looking at him to make sure he believed her.

"I know you aren't, Alex." Dom said sincerely. "What did he do when you told him that?"

"He kept yelling it, and I started yelling back at him." She put her head down. "I shouldn't have fought with him, I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry for standing up for yourself, Alex. I told you that you have the right to defend yourself."

"Yeah, you said that no one had the right to touch me if I didn't want to be touched!" Alex reminded him.

"He touched you?" Alex bit her lip, she wasn't planning on telling him and getting Vince in trouble. She didn't want Dom to be mad at him.

"I don't think he meant to." She said quickly.

"What did he do?" Dom demanded quietly trying to keep himself calm.

"He just grabbed my wrist, that's all." She was about to pull her wrist from between herself and Dom when she realized that she was no longer wearing her bracelet on that wrist, it must have fallen off when she'd broken away from Vince.

"Let me see it." Dom instructed in a voice that said he wasn't going to ask twice. Alex sighed putting her uninjured wrist in his hand. Dom lifted his brow as if to say '_Are we really going to play these games?'_ See that Dom was already angry enough she put her bare wrist into his hand. Dom scowled at the angry red hand print that wrapped around her wrist which just made the white scar that much more vivid. Dom traced the scar with a gentle finger before Alex sharply inhaled.

"I'm sorry, Alex." Dom said looking deep into her eyes and Alex knew he wasn't apologizing for her hurt wrist. He was apologizing for everything. Apologizing for everything _they_ had ever done, apologizing for her being hurt, hungry, alone.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Dom. Everything that I have to be thankful for I have thanks to you." Alex said looking into his eyes. At that moment Dom felt the deepest desire to kiss her, to pull her away from all things evil and escape into pleasure. He looked down at her wrist though and saw that scar and he was reminded of everything that she had gone through, she wasn't ready yet. She needed more time to come into herself before she had to have the burden of any sort of functioning relationship. And so he'd wait, he'd help her every step of the way and when she was ready he'd be there.

Dom bent his head and touched his lips to her soft bruising wrist. Alex let out a surprise moan. Dom smirked knowing that when she was ready he'd take great pleasure in each of her moans. Her name would be a prayer on his lips and his tongue would worship her.

"Dom." He let out a grunt of pleasure at the way she whispered his name so reverently and it was all he could do not to ravage her right there. But he'd wait, he wanted to do this right. He didn't want to be another bad memory for her, another regret. He wanted her to bask in the pleasure he brought to her for days after.

Dom stood up with Alex still in his arms. She had gotten closer to a healthy weight so he couldn't hold her with one arm any longer, and for that Dom was thankful. She was actually filling out nicely. Her legs were becoming shapelier, her body was starting to look like that of a women instead of a starving child. Her cheeks were filling in which gave her a more youthful look but also balanced out her large eyes. She was becoming beautiful, and more importantly she was coming into herself. Dom had been shocked at the way she had glared Vince down, but he was so proud of her. It was obvious that she had stood her ground with him and even had to use the moves he'd taught her to escape his tight grasp.

"I'm proud of you" He said putting her into bed. "You really are a fighter." He smirked down at her rubbing her cheek. "But I think all that anger got tuckered you out, why don't you take a nap then you, me and Vince will have a little chat. How does that sound?" Alex could only give a little nod as her tongue had felt as if it were made of lead. Sleep sounded good to her. She buried herself deeper into her covers and closed her eyes.

"Sweet dreams, Alex" The feeling of his soft full lips touching her forehead was the last thing she remembered before falling into the most amazing dreams of her life, all centered around one man.

**Hope you liked it! Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favored/followed:**

**KK8KK89981001, Lilangel1236, Nikollette11, Rachel-xox, SOAFan26, Short But Deadly, foxfire106, ginny swan, seetherfan77, decadenceofmysoul, the mysterious guest, and caleb's babe. **

**you guys are awesome! I would love more reviews and followers. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! **


	6. Resolution

**Hi everyone! Sorry for the late updates, you know how the holidays go. I really appreciate all the feedback! Even the not very nice one... kinda =/ But I hope everyone likes this next one.**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OC. **

"Alexis?" Alexis rolled over on her side looking over at Mia who was sitting on her bed. Alex had been sleeping hard until about ten minutes before Mia came in and had since then been staring at the wall opposite the door. She was mulling over everything that had happened. She shouldn't have fought with him; Dom and Mia were going to kick her out now. She was okay with being back on the streets, she'd get used to the hunger pains again, she could do without the comfort of a bed, she could go back to living on the streets; she just didn't want to be alone again. She would give up everything else if she could just keep her friends. She couldn't get over losing the only people that had ever shown her any kindness. She didn't want to lose Mia, Leon, Jesse and Brian; couldn't lose Dom.

"You okay hun?" Mia asked brushing a stray hair behind her ear while Alex sat up. She felt the tears gather in her eyes but she blinked them back, she'd cried enough today.

"I…" Alex's voice cracked. "I don't want to leave."

"Oh, baby girl." Mia hugged the girl close to her. "I don't want you to leave either. No one does."

"Vince does." Alex mumbled into Mia's hair. "He hates me."

"Screw Vince, he hates everybody." Mia said holding her.

"He doesn't hate you." Alex pointed out to which Mia chuckled.

"That's because he thinks he's in love with me." Mia gently stroked the girl's now soft blonde hair.

"What's that like?" Alex asked pulling away so she could look up at Mia.

"What's what like?"

"Love." The girl said softly. "To fall in love, to have someone love you, and for you to love them." Mia gave the girl a sad smile. How do you explain something to someone who has never experienced it before?

"You know that feeling you get when you're driving with Dom and he peels out, or when he speeds and you feel excited, and out of control and your stomach drops and you're laughing?" Alex nodded with a smile. She loved it when Dom would take her out for a joy ride.

"That's kind of how love is. It's wild, crazy and exciting." Mia smiled with a far off look.

"I think I'd like to fall in love." Mia rubbed her cheek smiling at her innocence. She was like a child in so many ways.

"Just be careful, hun." Mia warned. "Falling in love can be amazing, but remember that one time Dom slid and your seatbelt wasn't fastened well and you ended up slamming your head into the window?" Alex rubbed her head remembering the pain that exploded through her skull and the blood that dripped down, Dom since got a performance four point seatbelt. Alex nodded her head frowning. "Well, love can also feel like that. One minute it's all rainbows and sun shine, the next you're in more pain than a bump on the head. So just be sure that if you're going to fall, you fall for the right guy, one who won't leave you hurt and alone." Alex nodded thinking.

"Dom wouldn't hurt me." Mia smiled down at the girl who seemed so much younger than her.

"No, Dom wouldn't hurt you." She agreed. "Dom's a good guy. You should find someone like him." Mia smiled.

"Yeah, he's really nice." Mia smiled. "He always takes time to teach me things, he's patient, and he takes me on drives to make me laugh." Mia noticed that Alex's smile came back speaking about Dom.

"What do you feel when you see him?" She asked.

"Happy." Dom made Alex happy as simple as that, and yet more complex that she realized.

"Do you like him?" Mia gasped. Alex gave her a confused look.

"Of course I like him."

"No, I mean…" Mia didn't know how to explain it to her. "When you first met us you wouldn't let us touch you." Alex looked down at her hands and noticed that her second bracelet was back in place. Dom must have gotten it and put it back as she slept. Alex gave a little smile as she touched the bracelet thinking of how nice he'd been to return it and not question her about the scars.

"Do you still not like it when he touches you?"

"No, it's okay now." Alex smile grew. "I like it when he holds my hand, and when he lets me sit in his lap when I'm sad." Alex touched her bruised wrist and could still feel where his lips touched her skin. "I like it when he kisses me."

"Kisses you?" Mia was shocked. She knew the two of them were close, but Alex didn't need this right now. Oh when she got down stair she was going to ring his neck! How could he play with her like this? She was innocent! What else had they done?

"Yeah, when he tucks me in at night he kisses me, or when I get hurt. Why? Is that bad?" Mia's heart slowed as she realized that he wasn't trying to make a move on her, he was trying to show her proper love.

"No, not at all." Mia smiled gently.

"Good, because I like it." Alex smiled. Mia smiled as she ruffled Alex's hair.

"Come on, Dom wants to do a powwow with you and Vince."

"Powwow?" Alex asked for clarification, as always Mia was happy to help.

"A meeting."

"A meeting: an assembly of people, especially the members of a society or committee, for discussion or entertainment." Mia laughed.

"Have you been reading the dictionary?" Alex shrugged.

"You guys might not always be there. I love the help, and I couldn't do any of this without you, but I need to be able to do things by myself." Mia pulled Alex into a side hug and gave a gentle squeeze. Alex had come so far since she came to live with them. She was stronger, smarter, and trying to be more independent. She had gotten some new clothes after Dom threatened to burn all of Mia's clothes so she couldn't keep borrowing them. She'd gotten her hair treated and was now as soft as a new born. She wasn't as deadly skinny as she was before and was starting to look more her age than a sickly teen.

"Come on, don't want to keep Dom waiting in the mood he's in." Alex bit her lip but left with Mia. She followed Mia into the living room and she noticed that no one else seemed to be inside the house.

"Thanks Mia." Dom said as he motioned for Alex to sit with a nod of his head. Alex took a seat next to him on the couch as he watched Vince without breaking his gaze. Vince seemed to squirm under Dom's stare and Alex couldn't blame him, he wasn't staring at her and it still made her want to crawl under a rock.

"It looks like we have a problem." Dom started once Mia left. "Vince, you're my oldest friend but you've got some people skill issues." He shifted his gaze to Alex and she shank back into the cushion. Dom would have smirked at her if he hadn't been so mad.

"Alex, why were you in Vince's room?" Alex gulped, she hated being put on the spot, especially when the tension was so thick.

"I was just trying to help out, just trying to clean up."

"No one asked you to!" Vince was brave now that he wasn't under Dom's gaze. Dom quickly snapped his head back to him and gave him a look that told him he needed to keep his mouth shut to, which Vince complied. Dom motioned for Alex to continue so she stopped biting her bottom lip and sighed.

"I just finished picking up his dirty clothings and I saw his um…guitar." She looked up at Vince with a frown. "I wasn't gonna touch it, I was just trying to figure out what it was." She bowed her head and continued biting her lip.

"So you didn't take anything of Vince's?" Alex shook her head vigorously. Dom looked back at Vince. "Anything you wanna say?" Vince was still glaring at the young girl and she kept her eyes downcast.

"Dom, she doesn't belong here!" Alex flinched. "She's not normal. She's never seen a guitar before? How fucked up can you be!" Alex blinked back her tears, she wasn't going to cry. Letty wouldn't cry, she shouldn't either, but she wasn't Letty. Letty would have told Vince where he could shove it and move on. Alex was hurt though, she was trying so hard to be a part of their team. She helped clean, and cook. She would help in any way she could. She was trying hard to contribute to their little family, she hoped one day to be part of it.

"Alex." Dom's voice seemed strained. "Could you wait outside for a second?"

"Just one?" Alex asked confused. Vince threw up his hands while Dom just gave a small amused smile.

"Just wait outside until I come and get you, okay?" Alex nodded her head and left the room.

"Dom, do you see what I'm saying? She's a complete idiot!" Dom was up in a second and had his hand on his friends shoulder. He leaned into Vince's face in a threatening manner.

"Now you listen Vince, and listen good. Alex is a member of our team whether you like it or not. She has done everything that she can in order to get you to accept her and you haven't given her an inch. Now, what the hell is your problem? You called her a thief, but she came back and apologized when she didn't have to. Did you ever feel guilty about anything we stole? How much money did you give back from the trucks?"

"I never stole from family!" Vince defended.

"How many other families have you stolen from?" Vince glared up at his friend not having a defense. Dom sighed in exasperation backing up so he wasn't in Vince's face any longer.

"Is this about Claire?" Dom asked.

"You promised you would never bring her up!" Vince said now standing up.

"I never thought I would have to." He squared off with Vince. "But that's it, isn't it?" Vince glared at Dom for a moment before looking away.

"I shouldn't have left her." He said quietly.

"You were a kid, you didn't know." Dom said sympathetically. "But shoving Alexis away like you have been isn't going to bring Claire back." Vince nodded knowing that Dom was right, Dom was always right. They were silent for a moment letting everything settle.

"You think that's how she would look now? I mean without all the scar and junk." Dom shrugged.

"Who knows man, maybe. But I can tell you this, she'll love you like a brother if you let her."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Vince finally admitted. "What if Alex needs me and I let her down like Claire?"

"So you're just going to let her down without giving her a chance?" Vince looked down thinking over everything. "Give her a chance man, who knows she might teach you a thing or two, Lord knows she's taught me a lot." Vince nodded without saying anything Dom knew now that since Vince finally admitted what was wrong that things between him and Alex were going to be a lot smoother. Dom could tell Vince was really thinking everything over so with a squeeze on his brother's shoulder he left Vince to be alone with his thoughts.

Dom left the room and looked for Alex. She wasn't waiting by the door like Dom assumed she would be, instead she was at the back porch which was right off of Vince's room. She sat on the steps gazing up at the stars. Dom watched her for a moment and took in her look of wonder.

"What are you doing out here?" Dom asked walking out the door and watched the girl shrug.

"I'm star looking."

"Star gazing." Dom corrected, but it made him realize he didn't have to correct her as consistently as he'd done before.

"Yeah, star gazing." She smiled finally looking at him. Dom looked up and frowned, she couldn't be doing much star gazing when there were only three or four stars visible.

"You like stars?" The girl nodded at him.

"They're beautiful, and they twinkle just like in the song." Dom nodded formulating a plan. Dom sat with her in silence looking up at the few stars hanging in the distance.

"So am I in trouble?" Alex asked in a quiet voice. Dom shook his head smiling.

"You always think you're in trouble." Dom reached out to put his arm around her shoulders but she flinched back.

"Sorry." Alex said closing her eyes, she took a breath and reopened them giving Dom him a little smile. Dom put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him.

"You're not in trouble Alex. You didn't do anything wrong. And even if you did I still would never hurt you!" Dom promised. Alex nodded her head.

"I know. I know you'd never hurt me, Dom." She gave him a sad smile looking up at him. "I'm just like Vince said 'fucked up'." She shrugged looking down. Dom tightened his grip on her and lifted her chin.

"Hun, everyone in this family has their own demons. You're no exception and neither is Vince."

"You're not messed up." She said in a small voice. Dom laughed.

"Oh baby, you don't know the half of it." Alex rolled her eyes and for a moment he was reminded of Letty. He sighed realizing that she didn't believe him.

"Come on." He decided that it was time to show her his demons. He took her hand and led her to the garage that she hadn't been in before. Dom told her the story of his father, of the man he nearly killed and the time he did in prison for it.

"I've made some mistakes, Alex. I've done things I'm not proud of and I've had to fight my own battles." Dom crossed his arms leaning back against the shelf looking at Alex. The entire time he'd spoken she'd been quiet but he still knew exactly what she was thinking because of her animated expressions. She hadn't learned to keep a proper poker face yet, despite Letty's lessons, and Dom was happy he didn't have to be a mind reader around her. Still, he wanted to hear it from her.

"So?" He asked lifting an eyebrow. Alex gave him a confused look not knowing what he wanted. "Do you think I'm an evil person?"

"No." Alexis said with a horrified look. "Of course not, Dom."

"But?" He noticed the hesitation in her voice.

"But." Alex bit her lip looking down at her feet which where dangling off the stool. "You got angry, and you hurt someone." Dom knew what she was thinking, that he'd get angry with her and hurt her like he'd done Kenny Linder. He walked up to her and gently placed his large hand on her cheek. Alex didn't back down, instead she turned her face deeper into him. Dom smiled down at the girl as she closed her eyes and nuzzled her cheek into his hand.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Dom promised.

"Mia says sometime it hurts." Alex said in a dreamlike state. Dom was confused.

"What hurts sometimes?" Alex's eyes snapped open and she pulled away from his hand. Alex hadn't meant to say anything out loud, sometimes her filter didn't work like it should.

"Nothing!" Alex cried out. Dom sighed heavily.

"Alex, are you ever going to tell me anything?" Alex looked down biting her lip, she didn't want Dom mad at her and right now he looked thoroughly frustrated. Dom tossed a rag down and spun away from her grabbing onto the waist high shelf. He gripped it so tight that his knuckles were turning white. He'd been working on Alex to get her to open up about where she'd come from or really anything about her past for weeks now and she hadn't let anything slip. He always had patience with her but with him telling her something so personal about himself he was hoping it would open her up more too, it looked like that wasn't going to be the case tonight though.

"I lived in a big house." Dom turned and looked at her hardly hearing the words that she whispered.

"What?" He asked carefully moving closer to her. Alex sighed but kept her gaze down.

"I lived in a big white house." That sentence wasn't exactly anything personal, but it meant a lot to Dom. It was the first time she'd ever told anyone anything that had to with her past, even something as simple as the color and size of her house.

"Come on." Dom motioned for her when he saw she wasn't going to continue speaking. "Leon wants to introduce to you a scary movie."

"What's it called?"

"I don't know, it's one of those gore fests I think. I don't usually watch those, but I don't think it's a good idea for you to watch it, at least not alone."

"Leon would be there, he always stays with me." She pointed out.

"Yeah, but you don't want to be holding Leon's hand, he'll get the wrong idea." Dom knew it wasn't true. Leon saw her as a little sister to teach and protect, nothing more.

"Wrong idea about what?" Dom rolled his eyes, she was too naïve for her own good sometimes.

"Come on." He said throwing his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her close to him and practically dragged her into the house.

**Well there you have it, another chapter down. I really hope everyone enjoyed, if you did let me know! Thanks to everyone who reviewed and favored me or my story. You have no idea how much you mean to me! so a big Thank you to:**

**PippaLuck, 08bdovea, xx GoTta lOvE lOvE sToRiEs xx, iloveponyboy, Sammy189312, lily0105, Lorelei evans, AngelRoze and kpugh76. And thanks for the review Stacey73! =D**


	7. A Nigh Of Confessions

**Hey guys! Hope you had a good Holiday Season! This one is a little shorter than normal but that's because this one was a little harder to write. Next one will come out soon though since this one is shorter than normal. Enjoy!**

Dom was right about the movie, Alex didn't want to say anything and ruin it for Leon but she was scared. She had Dom's hand clutched so tight he feared he'd lose circulation and twice she buried her face in his arm. It was in the middle of a movie when the blonde bimbo was suspended in the air spread eagle that Alex started shaking.

"Alex?" Dom asked, but she didn't respond as she was too transfixed on the screen. The villain stepped up to the girl with something hidden in his hand but Alex seemed to know what it was.

"No." Alex started to shake her head as the man revealed the whip. "No, no, no." She whispered over and over.

"Alex." Dom start a bit firmer. It caught the attention of Leon and Jesse who were watching with them. Dom grasped the girl's shoulder but it seemed as if she was in a trance. As the whip cut across the woman's back Alex emitted a bloodcurdling scream that chilled the boys to their core.

"Turn off the movie!" Dom commanded as he stepped in front of Alex to block the screen. The boys scrambled to turn it off as quickly as possible. The silence in the room was only interrupted by the quiet mutterings of Alex. She had her knees pulled up to her chest, her hands covering her ears, and her eyes clinched shut. The other had all come out of their rooms and were gathered around to see what the hell had happened.

"Alex?" Dom reached out and touched her arm, but she pulled away and started muttering louder but it was so fast they couldn't understand anything she said. "Baby girl, it's okay. It's me, Dom. You're safe."

The muttering stopped and deep breaths took their place. "I'm safe." She finally choked out.

"That's right Alex, you're safe." She slowly opened her eyes and removed her hands from her ears.

"I'm safe." Alex repeated. "They can't hurt me."

"Never." Dom said firmly. "They're never going to hurt you!" Alex nodded her head slowly still shaking. Dom looked around at his family and they all had looks of concern, Mia looked like she was about to cry.

"Why don't we get you up to bed?" Alex gave a shaking nod, but Dom didn't think she even heard him since she didn't move. He put his hand out for her and she put her trembling hand in his large steady hand. As he pulled her from the couch the girl's legs gave way and she ended up falling into Dom. All the boys, including Vince, stepped forward to steady her on instinct but Dom had her secured.

"Want me to carry you?" Dom whispered softly in her ear. Alex wanted to have Dom's strong arms around her, she wanted to breathe in his intoxicating scent, she wanted to feel safe, but she didn't want the others to see her as weak. She wanted to prove to Vince that she was stronger than he thought. With a gentle shake of her head she pulled back from him. He put his arm around her waist to guide her and keep her from falling.

"Why don't you guys put in another movie." Dom said it like a suggestion, but they all knew that he wanted them to go about their business and stay out of Alex's. They all looked away from the pair walking to the stairs and they did just as Dom suggested, although no one really paid attention to it.

Alex took her first step up the stairs and nearly fell. She was shaking so bad that she couldn't control her Jell-O like legs any longer. Dom seeing that the others weren't watching quickly threw the girl up into his arms and started the accent towards their bedrooms. Alex let out a little whimper in protest but as she felt the strength of his arms, the power in his legs, she knew that she would rather be here than anywhere else.

Dom entered Alex's room and gently placed her on the bed. "You okay?" He asked as he knelt down beside her pushing the hair out of her eyes. She started to say yes like always, but as she did a lump caught in her throat and it was all she needed to send her over. Dom saw the tears before they left her eyes and she was up and in his lap before she could say anything. For the second time that day he rocked her as she cried into his chest.

Alex was angry at the tears, she was angry that she was being emotional, she was angry for a lot of things, but she was mostly exhausted. She was tired of crying over them, over her old life. She just couldn't seem to shake her past.

"Alex, I've got you. Those men can't hurt you anymore!" Dom reassured her as she started to calm down.

"Remember." Alex started in a quiet voice but was interrupted by a hiccup. "Remember when Jesse asked me those questions, and I freaked out?" Dom nodded, he remembered it all too well. "Every year on my birthday that's what they'd do." Alex trembled remembering the sharp end of the whip biting into her skin, slicing into her until the flesh of her back turned to ribbons.

"What?" Dom asked horrified she couldn't mean what he thought she meant.

"He said he'd read it in a book; Cristo something. He said that every year on my birthday he'd whip me to remind me of the crime that I've committed." Dom wanted to puke.

"Alex, how old were you?"

"It started on my eighth birthday." She said so quietly Dom could barely hear her. Dom was the one trembling now. He was so angry he wanted to take a crowbar to this man's head.

"Eight! You were eight?" Dom was trying to keep the rage out of his voice, he didn't want to scare her, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. "What crime could you have committed at the age of eight?" Silence filled the room and Dom thought she was going to remain quiet as usual, but as Alex took as shaky breath Dom knew he was going to get more information from her.

"I killed my mother." It was quiet again after Alex's whispered confession. She held her breath and waited for Dom's hatred. She knew she'd be cast out now, she knew he'd loath her as much as the man that hurt her.

"Did she hurt you too?" Dom asked quietly. Alex pulled back and looked at Dom in horror.

"No, I never knew her. I killed her before I could." Alex's voice caught it her throat and Dom pulled her back to him. "The only thing she'd ever done is give birth to me."

"She died in childbirth?" Alex could only nod to Dom's question. "Alex, baby, you didn't kill anyone!" Alex pulled back and looked at Dom furrowing her brows. "Alex, sometimes bad things happen and there's complications when a woman goes into labor. It's nothing that you did."

"But he said-"

"I don't care what he told you, he's a liar!" Dom cut her off. "Alex," he said looking down into her eyes. "Your mother died, but that doesn't mean you killed her." Alex shook her head knowing that Dom was wrong, knowing that she was the one that killed her mother. "Baby, you would never hurt anyone, right?"

"No," She said adamantly shaking her head, and then as if remembering something she said with less conviction "I'm not bad." She shook her head.

"I know, you're good. You didn't kill you mother, okay?" Alex nodded her head but Dom knew she didn't believe him.

"You've had a long day." Dom said picking her up and tucking her in gently. "Why don't you get some sleep?" He turned on the nightlight and turned to go out the door.

"Dom, wait!" Dom turned back to Alex noticing that the girl was shaking again.

"Do you want me to leave the door open?" Dom asked when Alex failed to say anything. She shook her head.

"I don't want to be alone." She said softly, her voice cracking.

"Do you want me to have Mia or Letty come stay the night with you?" Again Alex shook her head.

"They don't make me feel safe, not like you." Dom froze understanding what Alex wanted. He watched her bite her lip nearly begging him to stay with her. He gave a small nod.

"I'm going to get some clothes, you should change into some pajamas, okay?" Alex nodded getting out of bed and walking to her drawers. Dom noticed that she still had a bit of wobble to her but she could walk on her own. Once Dom saw that Alex would be safe he switched on the light and closed her door most of the way.

Dom walked back to his room throwing on a pair of sweats thinking over everything that Alex had told him. She blamed herself for her mother's death. She was tortured because of her "crimes" and it all started at the young age of eight. Dom thought back to Mia at the age of eight, she was so young, carefree, and innocent. How could anyone ever want to hurt a child?

Dom knocked on the door and Alex was already back in bed. "You sure about this, Alex?" Dom asked before getting into the other side of the bed. Alex nodded gently, to be honest this was one of the few things she was sure about.

Dom crawled in next to her and she turned to face him. "Thank you, Dom." She whispered.

"You're welcome, Alexis. Now go to sleep." Alex nodded and obediently closed her eyes and snuggled into the pillow. It didn't take her long to fall asleep, she was exhausted from her emotional day. Dom watched as Alex's lips parted and her breathing steadied. Dom wished that he could find sleep so easily, instead he couldn't help but stare at her. She really had become beautiful, and Dom didn't know when it had happened. When did she go from a malnourish girl who would shy away from anyone to this lovely woman that would stare down a man three times her size? And she actually invited him to bed, well she couldn't say it but still, she said she felt safe around him.

He reached out and put a stray hair behind her ears to which she gave a sleepy smile and moved closer to him. He gently reached over and pulled her closer so he could wrap his arms around her and she gave a soft satisfied sigh. And with this girl in his arms he finally found solace, and rest.

**Well, there's chapter 7. I hope everyone liked it! If you did, please review. Those reviews really mean the world to me! ****J**

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	8. The Day After

**Thank you everyone for your support! Enjoy!**

The morning came and it found both Dom and Alex laying in each other's arms blissfully unaware of the world around them. For the first time in a long time Alex didn't have a nightmare and Dom slept through the night without worry of bills or his family, they were at peace. The sound of a door from down stairs closing broke them from there peaceful slumber.

"Um, hi." Alex said nervously as she her eyes fluttered open seeing Dom.

"Hey." He smiled at her shyness. They were quiet enjoying this serene moment. "We should probably get up. They'll come looking for us otherwise." Alex chuckled at the thought of Mia finding them like this and decided that Dom was right. Nodding her head she squirmed out of his grasp and out of the bed. Dom sighed at the absence of the girl in his arms and rolled over shaking his head, this was getting to be too much for him. Dom walked to his room trying to get the image of Alex's sleeping figure out of his head. She was at peace, which was different. Even when she was laughing the fear was still there in her eyes, but he didn't see it when she'd woken. Maybe he did make her feel safe.

When Dom came down stairs Alex was already dressed in a pair of jeans and a blue shirt, he liked that she was so simple when it came to her clothes. Actually in everything she was laid back, she didn't seem to have any preference to anything, except maybe driving, and chocolate; Leon had gotten her completely addicted to it.

He took his seat at the head with Mia on his right and Alex on his left. Both girls smiled at him as they dug in to breakfast. "So Alex, are you going to the shop today or keep me company at the store?" Mia asked as they were finishing up. Alex bit her lip looking at the two of them, she liked working at the store and hanging out the Mia, but she also liked watching the boys roughhouse and learning about cars.

"Can I go to the garage with you?" Alex asked looking up at Dom through her lashes. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He'd told her a million times that she didn't have to ask permission, she was an adult.

"Do you want to go to the garage?" Alex smiled nodding. "Then you can go to the garage, Alex!" Dom answered shaking his head in exasperation, but couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips. The boys, Lenny and Alex all piled into their cars and drove off towards the shop.

Alex let out another laugh as Dom rounded to corner on two wheels pulled into the lot and came to a screeching halt perfectly in his spot. Alex was still giggling as she undid her seat belt, as she did Dom caught sight of the bracelets. "How'd you get the scars?" It was out of Dom's mouth before he realized he'd even opened it. It was a stupid question anyways, he'd known the second he saw the scars how she'd gotten them.

Alex's laughter stopped as she looked down at her wrists. She took off the bracelets and rubbed her wrist as if they hurt her. "I was weak." Alex said simply. She remembered that day so clearly in her mind. She had been let out of the basement which was happening more often the older she got, but she was never happy about it. After they were done with her she was being guided back towards the basement door when she noticed the knife hanging off the man's belt. She didn't know how she knew, if she'd seen it somewhere or heard someone say it, but she knew if she used the blade to slice her wrist she wouldn't have to endure their brutality any longer.

With a grace that she didn't realize she had she pulled the knife from the holster and brought it down from bone to bone. Alex remembered the searing pain, then the screaming and yelling, and then the comforting numbness. It covered her as a cold blanket, a chilling embrace, and then a startling awakening.

"Alex?" Dom asked pulling into the lot. Alex gave him a watery smile pulling her eyes away from her scars. She quickly shook her head as if to rid herself of the memories. "Please tell me you won't ever do something like that again." Alex now knew that Dom knew what she'd done.

"You and your family have shown me how amazing life can be outside of my prison, you've given me a reason not to." Dom took her hand and turned over her wrist looking at the scar intently. He traced the scar with his thumb softly from left to right over and over again as if trying to erase it.

Alex closed her eyes reveling at the soft touch as Dom's finger skimmed across her flesh. All of her life Alex had been afraid of people touching her, touch was painful, it hurt, it burned, it made her scream out for mercy, but this… this was something else entirely. Each time Dom's thumb glided across her skin it felt as if a small pleasurable jolt was sent through her body, and she didn't understand it.

Dom didn't mean for his caress to have that kind of an effect on Alex, but once he saw that it did he didn't want to stop. Alex seemed to melt at his touch. She let out a shivered breath that turned into a soft moan. Dom wanted to pull her over to his seat and kiss her, he wanted to show her what true pleasure was. Dom turned her hand over and placed it back on her lap slowly, now wasn't the time.

Dom gripped the stirring wheel tight trying to ground himself, it was getting harder not to push the boundaries that he didn't know existed until Alexis stepped into his life. Had they always been there and he never realized because there was never anyone there to set them? Who had set them now? Dom was confused. He knew he didn't want to push her, was sex new to her? Sadly he doubted it. Making love though? That was probably a foreign concept all together. Had she ever been kissed before? She said her father kissed her, was he the one behind her misery? He needed to know so he could know how to proceed with her.

"Dom?" Alex questioned quietly breaking through his thoughts. She nervously touched his wrist where he'd just been stroking her. She kept her eyes glued to her wrist afraid that if she looked at him, she wouldn't be able to ask. "Do I make you feel happy?" She asked quickly before she could chicken out.

Dom was thrown by her bold question. He looked at her wondering where the question had come from. "Yeah, you make me happy. Why?" He asked with a soft chuckle to hide his nerves.

Alex shrugged sighing with a smile on her face now able to look up at him. "Just making sure." She quickly got out of the car and bolted into the garage before Dom could ask her anything else. The others were already there getting everything prepared for their day. Alex walked around seeing what she could help with before she made it to the back to Vince. She always asked him if there was anything that she could do to help him and he'd always scoffed at her and turned her away. Today though she was afraid to ask since the events of last night. Taking a deep breath she walked up to him out of arms reach.

"Is there anything that I can help you with?" Alex asked meekly. Vince sighed with his back to her. He knew that he needed to make peace with her, that he needed to finally stop pushing her away.

"Yeah, sure." Alex was already walking away thinking that he was going to reject her again so she had to stop and turn.

"Really?" She asked stunned.

"Yeah, why not." Alex's look of bewilderment turned into radiant joy.

"Okay, great! What do you need?" She was nearly bouncing as she asked.

"Can you get me some 5W-30 full synthetic oil out of the closet?" Alex bit her lip, unsure of herself. She wasn't good with remembering things orally. The others knew this and would always show her what they wanted and she'd be able to get it, but Vince didn't know how messed up her mind was.

"5W-30 full synthetic?" She repeated. Vince nodded before shooing her away to get it. _5W-30 full synthetic_…_5W-30 full synthetic_…_5W-30 full synthetic_. She thought to herself over and over again as if it was her mantra.

"Hey Alex!" Leon called out for her. She held up one finger to him knowing she'd forget if she started talking to him.

_5W-30 synthetic… 5W-30 synthetic. 530-w… Wait no _she froze, no that wasn't right. _50-30? _Alex threw her hands over her eyes biting her lip. She didn't want Vince to think that she was dumb, she didn't want him to think she was useless and just a burden to the group. She wasn't… was she?

"Hey, Chica, you okay?" Lenny asked seeing Alex standing in front of the door that lead to their supply room.

"Um, kinda." Alex answered biting her lip.

"What's wrong, Alex?" Lenny asked more forcefully.

"I forgot which oil Vince needed and I don't want to go back and ask because he already thinks I'm an idiot!" Alex answered quickly. Lenny rolled her eyes not seeing the big deal but still wanting to help the girl.

"What kind of car was it?"

"It was a Nissan Maxima. Looking at it quickly, I'd say it was a '91 with a turbo thrown in it." Alex said thinking about it from the quick look she'd gotten of it before Vince sent her on her errand.

"5w-30 should do it." Lenny answered. Alex quickly got it from the shelf inside the closet and showed it to Lenny to confirm. "Yup, that's it."

"Thank Lenny, I owe ya!" Alex smiled before sprinting off to give Vince the oil. Lenny shook her head looking at the girl wondering what bullshit she'd been through to make her this way.

"I said _full synthetic_." Vince emphasized. "This is _synthetic blend_." Alex winced at his sharp tone. "Do you know what that means?" He asked condescendingly.

"No." She answered not looking up from her dirt and oil covered converse.

"It means, it won't work." Vince said plainly. She was going to tell him that Lenny said it would work, but Lenny wasn't the one that got it wrong, she did.

"Sorry Vince." She said quietly. He rolled his eyes, he hadn't meant to sound so harsh, she was just trying to help and once again he was being a jack ass. He put his hand up to guide her to the closet to show her the right bottle.

"No!" Alex jumped back tripping over a wrench and fell to the garage's unforgiving concrete floor. Dom heard Alex yell and watched her fall to the floor giving out a yelp of pain as she hit.

"Alex." He ran over to see what to happen only to see Vince standing over her. "What did you do?" Dom bellowed pushing Vince away from her.

"Man I swear, I wasn't gonna hurt her." Vince said throwing his hands up.

"No Dom. It's okay," Alex winced. "I reacted overly." Dom looked down in confusion before he realized what she meant.

"Overreacted. You think you overreacted?" Dom looked at her in amazement.

"Yeah, he didn't touch me. I… I thought he was gunna hurt me but I don't think he was going to, and I fell." Dom shook his head and gave a short laugh to let out his nerves.

"Sorry, V." Dom said clapping Vince on the shoulder. Vince nodded knowing he deserved to be accused.

"Come on, Alex." Dom put out his hand to help her up. Alex winced as she tried getting up.

"Um, Dom." Alex tried to get up but only ended up giving a small whimper. "I think I hurt my hand." Dom helped her sit up and she held out her hand to let him see. Dom's eyes widened as he looked at the girl's now crooked hand. The bone in her wrist now seemed broken and her bracelet no longer fit around the mangled joint.

"Alex, we got to take you to the hospital." Leon said looking disturbed by the site of her ruined wrist.

"No, you can't! Dom don't let them, please!" Alex desperately clung to his hand with her good one.

"Okay, okay," Dom said trying to get everything under control. "Let's everyone calm down." He said in his authoritive voice. He looked down at the girl's wrist and winced, this wasn't going to be easy. "Come on, Alex." He helped her up with her good hand. Alex clutched her injured wrist to her chest, but besides a few winces didn't let the pain show as she made her way up to Dom's office.

"Take a deep breath." Dom advised as he set Alex up on his desk in front of his chair. He sat in his seat and examined her hurt wrist. "Okay now on the count of three I'm going to reset this." Alex nodded but didn't really know what he was saying. It didn't matter though, Dom was in control and he always knew what to do.

Listening to Dom she took a deep breath. "One." She heard Dom say with clarity before immense pain shot through her body. All at once her ears started to ring, her skull seemed to shatter and she felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her.

"You okay?" Dom asked looking up at Alex's now pale face. Alex could only nod as she tried to get the air to return to her lungs. Her wrist did feel better, well maybe right was the better word. It still hurt, but it didn't feel like it was about to fall off.

"Alex?" Dom asked standing and lifted her chin up so she was looking at him. He noticed that her large blue eyes now were being overwhelmed by her dilated pupils. "You okay?" Alex looked up into Dom's dark brown eyes that nearly seemed black and saw something that she'd just recently learned was concern. Her body was buzzing from pain and endorphins, and Dom's strong hand holding her chin felt warm and secure.

"Dom." She whispered his name leaning closer to him. Dom stood in shock watching Alex closer her eyes and lean forward towards him. She was now a breath away and he could nearly taste her lips. Dom was about to touch his lips to hers in a sweet kiss when her head fell onto Dom's shoulder. She'd past out! Of course, here was Dom thinking that he was finally going to get to kiss her and have it be on her terms, but really all that was happening was that she was losing conscience. Dom rolled his eyes and shook his head at his stupidity before picking her up and placing her in his chair. Reaching into the desk he pulled out the wrap that he kept in case of emergency. He took her now swollen hand into his and started to wrap her wrist as tight as he could without cutting off the circulation.

Dom was surprised that Alex seemed to have a small smile on her lips. Damn those lips. When he'd first saw her he didn't really notice them, except that they were chapped. Now they seemed full and so smooth. Without being aware of what he was doing Dom reached out and gently slid his thumb across her bottom lip.

"Dom." Alex moaned softy. Dom jerked back feeling like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. But his guilt didn't last long. _She said my name._ He thought smugly. _And her lips._ He nearly groaned, they were as soft as rose petals.

"Alex." He said softly shaking her shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open and gave him a soft smile.

"Hi." She whispered.

"Hi." He smirked back. "Feeling better?" Alex lifted her wrist and winced. She couldn't twist it, but she figured it'd need time to heal. "You a righty?" Dom asked. Alex was confused but nodded. "Good, because it's going to be a while until you can use your left hand." Alex nodded looking over her light hand that was now wrapped tight.

"I thought you said you were going to count to three." She said looking up at him with what he could guess was trying to be a glare. Dom shrugged.

"I saw it in a movie or TV show or something; it's supposed to make it so you don't tense up." Alex nodded again.

"Thanks, Dom." She said giving him a small grateful smile.

"Yeah, well… don't make me do it again." He said seriously. Alex bowed her head in sorrow. Dom rolled his eyes reaching out and ruffling her hair. "You make me worry too much about ya kid."

"You worry about me?" Alex asked completely thrown.

"Of course I do! You're a klutz, besides I wanted you in one piece for tonight."

"What's a klutz?" She asked thinking that it couldn't be a good thing if it made him worry.

"It means you're always getting yourself hurt. I hate it when you get hurt."

"Sorry." Alex pursed her lips and Dom nearly kissed her.

"Enough with the sorrys already." He rolled his eyes.

"So-" She stopped herself biting her lips together, looking up at him guiltily. Dom laughed hard shaking his head. Alex blushed, deeply embarrassed. "So what's tonight?" She asked trying to change the subject.

"Race night." He smirked at her. Her brows furrowed again. "You'll see." He couldn't wait to show off in front of her, tonight was going to be a good night. "Speaking of which, Mia wants you home earlier. She wants you to be her Barbie doll."

"Well, I guess that I should get some work done then." She said walking to the door. The truth was she needed to get some space between them. When she'd passed out she dreamt that he had touched her lips with his rough callous fingers.

"Watch that wrist of yours." Dom warned as she turned the knob.

"Okay, Boss." She smiled widely amazed that he was actually caring about her. Dom watched her close the door through the window. He watched her lean against the door with a sappy smile on her face. He watched her gently touch her lips where Dom's fingers had just been. And finally he watched her practically skip away to the shop floor

Dom smirked, it seem like he made her happy. He wanted to make her happy more than he thought was normal. He figured it was because she'd had it so rough before that he wanted to make it up to her. On the other hand Dom couldn't help but smile as he thought of the softness of her lips, he couldn't wait to finally be able to touch them with his.

**Hope you all liked. Thank you to my new followers/favoriters:**

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**And to my reviews:**

**Flowerchild23, Caleb's babe, and Stacey73. You guys are so awesome and make me want to work harder. Until next chapter! **


	9. Preparing for Race Night

"Hey Alex." The dreamy smile was wiped away as she turned on her heels and saw Vince was waiting for her. "Listen, I'm sorry I was harsh on you earlier. You're just learning this shit, and I need to be more patient." Vince sounded as if he was repeating a reprimand that he'd received, more than likely from Letty. "But you gotta know that I wouldn't hurt you, okay?" That even to Alex's ears though sounded completely sincere.

Alex gave him a small smile and nodded, just like that Vince was forgiven. "Sorry I'm such a…" Alex had to think of the word for a moment. "Oh, klutz!" She smiled in triumph remembering Dom's word. Vince looked at her like she was crazy before he shrugged.

"Whatever." He turned around walking back to the car. Alex sighed figuring that was probably as good as it was going to get right now and didn't want to press her luck.

Dom wasn't kidding about Mia wanting Alex to be her Barbie doll, and she was not happy about Alex's newest accessory. "Really Alex, again?" Alex squirmed under Mia's exasperated look.

"I didn't mean to." Alex objected lamely. Mia gave a little laugh shaking her head. Alex wondered when people would stop shaking their heads at her.

"I know, Mija. Are you okay?" She asked finally, of course Mia was always worried for her safety but with the amount of times this girl was getting hurt they were going to need to buy in bulk at the pharmacy. Alex nodded her head looking embarrassed.

"I just can't use it very much." She mumbled sheepishly.

"Well I'm glad it didn't hurt much." Mia saw Alex's small smile slip a bit, she must have been hurting more than she was letting on. Mia sighed and gave her a sad smile. "Let's see what kind of magic we can make." Mia whisked the young girl to her room knowing that Alex's wardrobe was hopeless for what she was looking for.

"You can still wear this." She threw Alex a short denim skirt. Well, Mia didn't feel it was short, it came to mid-thigh, but to Alex she mind as well be wearing nothing.

"I don't know about this, Mia." She said warily holding up the skirt to her jean clad legs.

"Oh, come on! You're finally getting some shape, it's time you show it off!" She laughed giving Alex a soft hip bump. It made Alex smile, but she still eyed the skirt as if it was a snake about to jump at her. Mia was growing frustrated as she couldn't find anything she wanted that would now accommodate Alex's wrap. Alex was just growing bored. She was sitting on Mia's bed picking at the blanket with Mia shouted.

"I got it!" The shout made Alex jump and nearly sent her off the bed. "Letty will have something. She's always got stuff in her closet she never wears." Mia grabbed Alex's good hand and flew down the stairs.

"Letty." She called as she practically pounded on the bedroom door.

"What?" Letty asked annoyed as yanked the door open. Mia gave Letty her best let me in smile and with a sigh and a roll of her eyes Letty let them in.

"What do you want Toretto?" She asked, but her smirk belittled her snarky tone.

"You don't happen to have a black long sleeve shirt that you don't wear do you?" Letty lifted a brow but then looked down as if thinking it over.

"You know, I think I just might." She walked over to her dresser and dug through the unfolded clothes until she found what she was looking for. "There you are!" She smiled. "Here," She threw the garment to Alex who smiled up at her from her bed.

"Thanks Letty, I'll be careful with it." Mia gave a guilty look and was about to say something when Letty cut in.

"Don't worry about it, it's yours. I never wear it." She shrugged.

"Are you sure?" Alex asked while Mia bit her lip begging Letty to say yes. Letty gave her a weird look and was about to say no just to mess with her, but decided she wanted them out of her room more.

"Yeah, sure."

"Wow, thanks Letty." Alex smiled so big her cheeks were hurting; she still wasn't use to getting things.

"Yeah, thanks, Let!" Mia grabbed Alex's uninjured hand and stood about to run out the door before Letty changed her mind.

"Yeah, yeah, get out of here!" She opened the door to push them out but Mia was already out practically dragging poor Alex along with her.

"Now where were we?" Letty asked with a small laugh as she locked the door again.

"Put this on!" Mia demanded shutting the door behind her. Alex looked at Mia then back at the door biting her lip. In the time that she was there she'd never undressed in front of anyone, no one had seen her naked since she left. Mia saw her reluctance and was about to tell her to get over it and hurry when she stopped. _What am I doing?_ Mia was so concerned about making her look good that night that she was about to crash through Alex's boundaries with no regards towards her feelings.

"It's okay, Alex." She said taking a breath. "Sorry, I'm rushing and not thinking straight. I'll turn around, okay?" Alex bit her lip nodding her thanks. Once she was turned Alex quickly changed putting on the black shirt. She liked it, it covered her completely and it wasn't too tight.

"I'm done." Mia turned around with a smile… and scissors. _Where did she get the scissors?_ Alex thought as she eyed them carefully.

"Alex, I'm going to push you outside of your comfort zone a bit but you're going to be safe, okay?" Alex couldn't pull her eyes away from the sharp blades. "Alex, do you trust me?" Alex blinked from the blades up to Mia. _Well when you put it that way._ Alex nodded.

"Yeah, I trust you." The tremble in her voice betrayed her words but she didn't back away when Mia came closer.

"I'm just going to modify the shirt a bit, okay?" She approached Alex like one would advance towards a wild animal. She spoke softly and kept her hands where they could be seen. She took the scissors and started making cuts and slashes into the sleeves and midriff area.

"See, no one's getting hurt." Mia smiled as she was kneeling down next to Alex cutting strategically to take the shirt from a boring shirt, to an astounding fashion statement. Even Alex who didn't like her skin showing had to smile at the transformation. It wasn't until Mia had her in mid turn that she realized Mia was going to cut the back that she jumped away.

"Alex, be careful! I could have hurt you." Mia chastised.

"Not the back!" Alex shook her head fervently. "Please Mia." She begged.

"Okay, that's fine." Mia said holding up her hands again. "Just the front." She smiled. Alex nodded walking back to her spot. Mia let out a breath, and shook her head about to lecture Alex about over reacting when she again stopped. The movie, the girl being whipped, Alex freaking out, Alex not wanting anyone to see her back; it all fell into place for. Mia didn't realize that she dropped the scissors until Alex picked them up for her. Alex knew by the look in her eyes that Mia had figured it out and didn't know what to say. Mia was in shock; she looked up at the girl with tears in her eyes.

"Mia, please don't." Alex said kneeling down next to her. Alex didn't know what do to, she'd never comforted anyone before. "Mia, it's okay. I'm okay." Mia was trying to keep it together, she really was, but she just couldn't get the image out of her head. Little Alex strung up, them hurting her like that, them taking advantage of her weakness. It was all so sickening. Alex saw the first tear spill down her cheek and she didn't have to think about what to do. She pulled Mia into her arms and let her cry on her shoulder. It was what Dom would have done, and it always made her feel better.

"Mia, they can't hurt me anymore and it's all because of you and your family. You've helped me so much!" Mia pulled back from Alex after a few minutes.

"I'm sorry, Alex." She said wiping at her eyes being careful not to ruin her makeup.

"Mia, I told you, you saved me." Alex had her legs up against her chest now with her arms and chin resting on her knees. It was a barrier, between them, between their emotions, and a comfort. Mia noticed that she seemed tense about sharing her past, but at the same time there was some relief. One less secret.

"Hey, Mia." Dom knocked on the door but opened it at the same time knowing that if there was anything he wasn't supposed to see the door would be locked. He saw the two girls sitting on the floor, their eyes glossy and red. "Okay either you guys have been getting high or crying, neither of which I like. What's wrong?" Mia chuckled softly while Alex smiled shaking her head at Dom's protectiveness.

"We're good, Bro."

"High good?" Mia laughed harder at his scrutiny.

"What's high good?" Alex asked.

"Nothing!" Dom answered in a near shout. "It's something bad, and you're not allowed to ever get high." Mia was rolling now laughing at Dom's absurdity.

"Maybe that's a Leon and Jesse question." Alex mumbled to herself but Mia was so close that she heard which made her laugh even harder. Alex and Dom were both watching Mia now with bemused looks.

"Was she really sad and crying a few minutes ago?" Dom asked. Alex nodded without really taking her eyes off Mia. "Yeah, she does this weird mood swing thing. If you make her laugh after she's been sad she'll go all loopy happy." He said looking at her strangely but couldn't keep the smile off his face. Alex looked from Mia to Dom and raised her brow, he was pretty sure she'd gotten that from Letty and it made him give a short laugh.

"I was just coming to tell you guy we leave in 20." Almost instantly Mia sobered up remembering their time limit. She shooed Dom out and helped Alex get off the floor. A few more cuts here and there and Alex's shirt was ready. Mia decided to leave Alex's hair down since they didn't have much time to do anything with it and it was pretty enough without having anything done to it. She added makeup with make her stand out more and finally commanded that she put on the skirt.

"Are you sure about this Mia?" Alex asked for the millionth time looking down at the offensive object.

"Hun, I promise you, you'll look amazing." Mia added the last swipe off mascara before gliding on her heels. "Just put the skirt on, slip on the boots and we can go." As if on cue Vince could be heard telling them to hurry up. "Come on." Mia smiled closing the door behind her.

With a deep breath Alex took off her jeans and shimmied into the skirt. It wasn't as tight as it would have been on Mia or Letty, they had more "juice" according to Leon. She wished she wasn't as skinny as she was so she could have curves like them, but they said she was filling out more. Alex shrugged, maybe one day. With the skirt now in place she sat down on the bed and pulled on the boots that zipped up to just above her knee and had a decent heel. She liked the boots, sure she couldn't move in them as quickly as the sneakers that she usually wore, but they covered a good amount of her skin and she liked that the heels gave her more curves.

She gave a look in the mirror before heading out the door. The now ripped long sleeve shirt hung off her body perfectly giving the illusion of breasts and made her seem as if she wasn't all skin and bones. _Well, I guess I'm not a skin and bones now._ She gave a smile and she looked down at the skirt, maybe it wasn't as horrible as she thought it was going to be.

Alex took her time in the boots making sure not to fall in the heels. She decided she was going to make more of a point to not be a klutz, she didn't want Dom to worry so much. "Hey, Chica looking good!" Letty hollered as she walked into the living room. All eye turned to Alex and she blushed bright red. Alex noticed that all the girls where dolled up more than usual but the boys were just wearing something that was clean. She guessed that was as good as they were going to get.

"Come on guys lets…" Dom rounded the corner throwing on his leather jacket when he first saw Alex. Dom had noticed that Alex was wearing a black long sleeve shirt earlier, but he never saw all the tears that perfectly framed her body and gave just a peek of skin. Enough skin to make a man want to see more. He'd never seen Alex wear a skirt before, but he wanted to see her in them more often. It covered her modesty more than any skirt any other girl would be wearing tonight, but again, it gave him a nice enough view without being overbearing. And those boots. Dom nearly groaned when he saw those boots that traveled up her legs fitting them like a second skin. She wanted nothing more that to see her in just those boots.

"Dom? We going?" Mia asked with feigned innocence. Dom tore his eyes away from Alex to give Mia a look somewhere between a glare and a thank you. She knew exactly what she was doing to him even if he didn't know what it was doing to him. He looked back at Alex and nearly growled as he saw those leather boots. Tonight was going to be a very good night.

"Ye-" Dom had to clear his throat and looked away from the beauty before him. "Yeah, let's get out of here." They all filed out to their respective cars with Alex tagging along with Dom.

"So what do we do at these races anyways?" Alex asked.

"Me, Brian, Letty and Vince are going to race; unless the cops come." He said nonchalant.

"Cops?" Alex questioned with large eyes.

"Don't go worrying about it, I've already got it set up so that if they do interfere we got you taken care of." Dom gave her a little wink.

"What's the plan?" Alex asked still nervous.

"Well you're sticking close by me, but when I'm racing you're going to be with Letty and Mia. Don't go wandering off, got it?" Alex nodded obediently looking down at her hands folded in her lap. Dom rolled his eyes at her submissiveness. He tried to never give her commands because he hated how she reacted to them, but he was use to barking orders.

"Hey," He said to get her attention. She looked up at him shyly playing with the hem of her that had ridden up even further than she'd like. "You look good." He smirked as he watched Alex cheeks turn red under the street lights.

"You don't think it's too short?" She said tugging at the material. Dom's eyes darkened as he saw the flesh between her boots and the bottom of her skirt. Too short, no. There were going to be girls that showed three times as much skin. She'd look like an innocent to everyone else, at least that's what Dom was hoping. He was hoping that she'd be able to go under the radar, but she was with their team so that was highly unlikely.

"Trust me, you look good." Alex blushed deeply as she heard the rumble in his chest. There was something different about Dom tonight, she didn't know what it was but she liked it. He seemed cockier, more in control and in his domain. Best of all, he thought she looked good. Did he really? Doubt crept up on her, maybe he was just being nice. She looked to him and saw a glint in his eyes that told her no, he wasn't just trying to make her feel good. Alex squirmed in her seat as a new feeling of desire pitted in her stomach.

As Dom sat in the driver's seat Alex noticed that his tight white shirt stretched across his chest and was tight on his muscular arms. Dom was at ease with one hand on the steering wheel and the other casually on the gear shifter. Suddenly she wanted to touch him, she wanted him to touch her. She reached out towards his hand but before she could do anything she chickened out.

"Um, Dom." She said getting an idea. Dom looked at her in acknowledgement. "Do you think I can shift the gears for you?" Dom grinned at her. Thinking off all the innuendo's he could come up for that. He was the one squirming in his seat now.

"Sure thing." He said smoothly lifting his hand. Alex tentatively put her hand on the shifter giving a sigh of content as Dom placed his hand on hers. She'd hoped that by being able to touch Dom that her desire would be quenched, instead the flame seemed to grow in the pit of her stomach.

"So this is a standard 'H' shifter." Dom said, taking his hand off hers. She had to bite back a groan of disappointment immediately missing the warmth of his hand. "You have you first gear." He pointed to the top left corner of her hand. "Then your second gear." Dom dragged his finger straight down causing Alex's breath to hitch. "Third gear." He dragged his finger up and to the right. "Fourth." He let his finger glide back down below third. "Fifth." He slid his finger back up to the knuckle of her pointer finger. "And then back down for reverse." He smirked at her as he let his finger dance across her skin. Dom watched out of the corner of his eye as Alex squirm with just the touch of his finger to her hand.

"Think you can remember that?" Dom asked pulling Alex out of the rather naughty daydream that Alex was having. A day dream that consisted of herself, Dom, and those skilled fingers that seemed to make her weak with pleasure.

"Uh, yeah." She said shakily. "And neutral is just in the middle, right?"

"Always the observant one." He smiled ruffling her hair.

"Hey, if you mess me up before Mia gets to show me off she's going to kill me." Alex said only half joking.

"Who said Mia gets to show you off?" He asked with a fake glare. Alex opened her mouth but didn't really know how to answer that. Who else would introduce her to people? "Trust me, you want me to handle the meet and greet." He looked away from her and mumbled. "It'll get me into less trouble that way. Alex was thoroughly confused.

"What do you mean? How would you get in trouble?" Dom really hadn't meant for Alex to hear him grumbling and it caught him off guard that she asked.

"Well, it means I won't have to bust any heads in. The boys will know not to fuck with you and the girl's will know not to cause drama." He said offhand like it was obvious.

"What are you their king?" Alex laughed, but stopped when Dom just shrugged.

"Pretty much." Alex brows lifted in a way that Letty would be proud.

"So what's it like?" Dom smirked down at her excitement.

"You'll see." As he said that he took a turn causing them to down shift. As they entered the lot Alex was amazing at the amount of cars and people. There were bodies everywhere! Music was pulsating through different car stereos all wanting to be the best. Girls were running around half naked all trying to be the sexiest. There were so many different cars in such bright colors it nearly made her head hurt, but also caused awe and excitement.

"Dom, this is amazing!" Alex said looking around. It didn't take long for the crowd to realize who the new comers were. Soon the crowd that had parted to let them in was in closing in around them as they slowed down. Alex's face went from amazement to one of fear. She'd never been in a mass of people this big. They were all yelling and cheering for their "king."

"Hey, easy baby." Alex bit her lip looking out the window at all the faces that passed. Dom took her hand and brought her hand up to his lips. Suddenly the mob didn't matter, it was just the two of them; just Dom's lips brushing softly across Alex's knuckles. "Don't worry about them, I told ya, just stick with me." He gave her a wink and she could only nod was color filled her cheeks. "Stay put." Dom said before getting out.

Dom stepped out and was met with the normal handshakes, back slaps, and the occasional guy hug, but he made sure to hurry to Alex's side. He opened the door and saw that once again she was biting her lip. "You ready?" Alex closed her eyes taking a deep breath before nodding. "Show time." He smiled holding his hand out to her.

Alex carefully stepped out of the car mindful of her skirt. "Okay everyone listen up!" Dom yelled out wrapping his arm around Alex's waist. "We're here to race!" The cheers went up from the crowd. "So let's get this started!" The crowd went crazy and while Alex smiled at their enthusiasm she also curled herself more into Dom out of fear. Dom smiled down at Alex's wide eyes staring out into the crowd. They both had one thought going through their minds, this was going to be some night!

**Hi everyone! I really hope you liked it. I really appreciate everyone for the support and reviews. I'm crunched for time so I'm really sorry to not be able to thank you all individually! But just know each and every one of you mean so much to me! Thank you everyone. **


	10. Races, Fights, and Frights

**Sorry for the delay, but I made this one longer hope it makes up for it!**

Alex was introduced to many people, but with all the faces and names her mind was getting lost. She finally decided that she would just nod and smile. She stuck around with Dom and made sure to keep the others in sight, the last thing she wanted was to get lost in the sea of people.

Dom set up the races with Hector making sure that everything was in place. Once he knew how he'd be racing the race was to be set in motion. Instead of doing the normal street racing as they usually would Hector came up with the bright idea to race through the dilapidated business district through the abandon streets. This way no one would be around to care, and best of all no cops. It seemed like a win for everyone. Sure it was shorter and not as much of a climax, but as always they were there to see Dom race, and Dom was there to win no matter what roads they were on.

Dom made sure that Alex was with Mia and Letty at the finish line, he wanted her to have a good view of him as the won, which of course he would. The race wasn't very close. Dom already had all the best racers on his team. Alex cheered and laughed as Dom passed the finish line by two car lengths before the others passed through. Dom was thrilled to see her enthusiasm at his win and both of their bodies buzzed with excitement as they embraced.

The guys were discussing the next races, who would race who next, in which order and for how much, it was all a little much for Alex to keep track of so she busied herself with looking at all the cars and trying to figure out what they were. In her time at the shop and designing with Jesse, she'd learned to identify the many different types of cars that surrounded them, even with the many body kits.

"Alexis?" Her head snapped up at the unfamiliar voice that called her name. She realized that she'd been staring at one car in particular trying to figure out the exact make and model but was being confused by the barrage aftermarket parts thrown on it.

"Um, hi." She gave a shy smile at the man who had walked up to her. He had dark hair, tan skin with a few freckles across the bridge of his nose. He had blue eyes that seemed to know something that she didn't but his smile seemed friendly enough. Alex looked back to where Dom was standing but suddenly he wasn't there. Alex frantically looked left and then scanned right to try and find him. She stood as tall as she could to try and find any of the team, but they were all gone.

"Looking for someone?" The smooth voice asked from behind her, closer than Alex cared for. She gave a little jump forward to put some distance between the two of them.

"Uh, yeah." She said nervously hugging her arms in front of her. "Have you seen Dom?" She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear while poking her head up like a prairie dog looking for anyone she recognized.

"Yeah, Dom told me to come get you." Alex attention came back to the man quickly.

"He did?" The man took in the fact that the girl was biting her lip with apprehension and holding her wrist close to her body. _Wounded prey _his smirk seemed to say, but Alex didn't understand body language like others did.

"Yeah, come on." He put his arm out as if to put it around her, but Alex stepped away. He put his hands up in surrender and smiled. It was an oily smile that even set Alex on edge but she didn't want Dom to be angry with her for losing him, she figured the quicker she found him the better. He motioned for her down an alley away from the crowd. "I'm Jake."

"What do you think, Alex?" Dom asked turning to the blonde at his side… the blonde who was supposed to be at his side. "Alex?" He called out looking around for her. He spotted Letty and Mia and quickly forgot about the men he was having a conversation with walking away from them and to the girls.

"Where's Alex?" He asked interrupting their conversation.

"Whoa, chill Dom. I'm sure she's here somewhere." Letty smiled turning to talk back to Mia. Mia though looked concerned.

"She's been glued to your hip all night, well other than the race, she seemed too scared to run off." Dom glared out in the crowd looking over every small blonde he could see.

"My thoughts exactly." He said in a gruff voice but Mia could hear that he was trying to suppress his worry. "Spread out and find her, she wouldn't have gone far." He gave his orders and Mia nodded while Letty reluctantly pushed herself off of the car she'd been leaning on. Dom went looking for the guys to see if they'd seen her and help find her if not. Leon, Jesse and Brian where together admiring a 2001 Nissan Skyline, they quickly separated to find the young girl. Dom continued looking, although since she was about a head shorter than most of the girls it was a task easier said than done. He found Vince who seemed two seconds from having his tongue down some chick's throat. He was harder to convince to look for her, but after some arm twisting, almost literally, Vince stormed off in search of the pain in his side.

"So where's Dom?" Alex asked, the alley way was dark and she could barely see in front of her. This was wrong, it was all wrong.

"There's a door just at the end of alley, he's in there."

"Why would he be there?" Alex asked skeptically.

"He mentioned something about a surprise, something about alone time." At that Alex's heart picked up.

"Really?" All thoughts of danger were extracted from her mind. No, Alex wasn't the typical dumb blonde, just a girl that's never had a man that wanted to surprise her with anything good. Alex was excited, blinded by what the surprise could be and more importantly what it could mean.

"Yeah, but I got to tell you, I don't see what Dom sees in you." Alex flinched as her own thoughts were voiced in such a harsh manner. "You're too skinny, too short, you've got no body whatsoever, and dumb as they come; you must be one hell of a lay." Alex froze at the difference in his voice; she suddenly wasn't in the mood for a dark alley surprise.

"Why don't you just get on down and do what I'm sure you do best." He sneered. Alex eyes grew dark as she glared still shaking at his cocky grin. She turned to leave to find Dom and go home as soon as possible.

"Where do you think you're going?" Alex refused to say anything passing him by. "I said," He reached out grabbing Alex's injured wrist. Alex cried out in pain. "down!" Alex had two choices, get down on her knees like he said, or re-break her wrist. The pressure that he was putting on it hurt worse than when she'd originally broken it. Alex couldn't breathe as she stumbled onto her knees.

"Good girl." He mocked patting her on the head with his unoccupied hand. Alex wanted to struggle but anytime she'd move an at all a searing hot pain filled her body.

"Please stop!" She hated that those words were coming out of her mouth again, she hated how weak she sounded. Being around Dom and the team always made her feel stronger, but now here she was, on her knees at a man's mercy again. _No!_ Alex screamed in her mind as he reached for his jeans. She had felt so safe in her new world that she'd almost forgotten the cruelty of man.

"DOM!" Alex screamed out with everything she had. She knew it was a long shot, there were too many people, too many stereos blaring their music too loud, too many engines with too loud mufflers, but she couldn't just allow him to do this.

"You little bitch!" He pulled his fist back and slammed it into Alex's cheek as hard as he could. Alex's head whipped back and she knew it would probably leave a bruise and a busted lip. Alex tasted the blood as her teeth made an indent in her inner cheek. Her brain felt rattled in her skull and her vision was starting to go dark. Alex fought hard to stay awake, she knew what would happen if she didn't.

"Dom!" She called out as loud as she could but with her on the verge of unconsciousness it really was a pathetic attempt. Jake laughed as he grabbed her now battered face.

"You're going to regret that."

"Alex!" Jake quickly turned hearing Vince's voice boom from the entry of the alley. As he turned a loud snap could be heard throughout the alley. Alex couldn't scream at first, she was in too much pain. A small whimper was all she could choke out as she tried to get her wind back.

"Jake, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" Vince voice was menacing as he started walking towards them.

"You stay the hell away from me!" Jake yelled out as he yanked Alex in front of him. This time the crack that sounded was drowned out by a scream from Alex. Vince stopped as he saw Alex's nearly limp body dangling by her injured wrist.

"Vince." Alex chocked out. Vince heard the pleading in her voice, she needed his help.

"It's okay, Alex. Everything is gonna be alright." He said calmly taking a slow step towards them.

"No it's not!" Jake pulled out a butterfly knife and held it to Alex's neck. "I told you to stay back!" Jake yelled at Vince who immediately stopped.

"Jake, just let her go and I won't beat the ever living shit out of you!" Vince growled out as gently as he could.

"No way! I've been biding my time and now Dom's finally got a chink in his armor! So we're going to have some fun." Jake licked the side of Alex's face. "And you," He pointed the knife at Vince "are going to get…" But he never got to finish. Once Alex's realized that the knife was no longer pointed at her neck she threw her head back right into Jake's groin. With a yelp of unexpected pain, Jake dropped the knife. Alex rolled to the side to get as far away from him as the alley would allow despite the fact that it made her wrist wither in pain.

Vince ceased the moment and pounce on the smaller man knocking him to the ground. It only took two well-placed punches to Jake's face and he was out cold. Vince wanted to keep beating the comatose man, but knew that Alex had to be in extreme pain. With a growl Vince stood and kicked the man in the ribs once before walking to Alex.

"You okay?" Alex looked at him with her bright blue eyes, one already swelling shut. She tried to give a small smile, but winced as it pulled at her spilt lip.

"I'll live." She choked out. Alex used the wall behind her to ease herself up. "Thanks." She said looking up at him through her lashes. Once again, she was hurt and always seemed to need other people's help.

"Nice head butt." Vince smirked. Alex was astonished that she heard something that sounded like pride in his voice, no not pride Alex must have been mistaken.

"What did he mean? A chink in Dom's armor?" She asked. Vince sighed, always with the questions.

"He thought he could use you to get to Dom."

"He could have used Mia." Alex pointed out.

"No, Mia may be small, but Dom's taught her how to handle herself and everyone knows it." Vince shrugged.

"So he thought he could use me since I'm weak?" Vince her the despair in her voice, he knew how hard he'd been on her previously, but he wasn't anywhere near as hard on her as she was on herself.

"You sure showed him, huh?" Alex looked at Vince in confusion not knowing what he was talking about. "He thought he could take you and do whatever he wanted with you because he thought you were weak, but you stopped him."

"No, you stopped him." Alex mumbled looking down at her wrist which was once again swollen and mangled.

"I just distracted him. You're the one that put you're the back of your head in his balls." He laughed ruffling her hair. Alex gave a small smile of pride but was rewarded with a shot of pain. "Come on, we better find Dom, he had a search party looking for you." He started to lead her out of the alley but she stopped turning to the man that had hurt her. She ran up to him still holding her wrist to her chest.

"I'm." She kicked the man in the gut. "Not." Another blow was brought down on his ribs. "WEAK!" She yelled in triumph delivered one more solid kick to his side. She turned back to Vince and they walked out of the alley together. Vince threw his arm around her shoulders.

"Nice job kid." He nodded down at her. "By the way, you owe me a hot brunette." He laughed at her bemused look.

"Alex!" Dom yelled out pushing his way through the crowd. Alex ran to meet him thankful to be out of the dark alley and all she wanted was to be in his arms, safe from the world. But Dom didn't bring her into his arms like she had wanted.

"Where the hell did you go?" He bellowed out as he held her tightly by the upper arms. Alex was surprised by the anger in his eyes, she'd never seem him like this.

"I…I…" She stuttered not knowing what to say. He hands tightened until they were painfully digging into her arms.

"Do you know how worried I was?" Dom yelled. Vince place his hand on Dom's shoulder.

"Dom, easy man." Dom shrugged his shoulder off staring at Alex.

"What the hell happened to your face?"

"This guy… He said that you wanted me... He said you had something for me." She gulped trying to hold back the tears in her eyes.

"So what? You just follow any guy into a dark alley, away from everyone, just because he said I had something for you? Please tell me you're not that stupid!" Alex winced as Dom's words were like a knife to her heart.

"Dom, that's enough!" Mia yelled out to him. She and Letty stood with the boys with looks of disappointment. Dom straightened up releasing the grip on one of her arms and loosening the other.

"We're leaving." He said as evenly as he could eyeing his team. He pulled Alex towards the car pausing when he got to Vince. "You take care of him?" The questioned didn't need any explanation.

"He's out." He muttered. Dom nodded without looking at him.

"You and the boys wake him up, and show him what'll happen if I ever see him again." Vince gave a short nod happy to follow this order. He motioned for the guys to follow him back into the alley. Dom kept his gaze away from the alley knowing if he entered it, the man who attacked Alex would never come out. Dom walked Alex to the car his hand still on her upper arm, he opened her door and waited for her to get in.

"Dom, I'm so-" He put his hand up to silence her.

"Not now." He growled. She wanted to say something, anything to get him to see that she was sorry but she bit her tongue knowing it was useless at this time. She closed her eyes against the tears and got into the car.

The quiet in the car was so tangible it felt as if it was suffocating her. The heaviness in her chest wasn't eased as Dom grip on the steering wheel tightened until his knuckles were white. They screeched around corners and drove too fast, but for once Alex wasn't in to mood to laugh and giggle and Dom wasn't doing it to watch her eyes light up.

The ride that had taken about thirty minutes to get there seemed like hours to get back. As Dom pulled up into the drive way Alex for the first time felt relief to get out of the car and into wide open space. The claustrophobic feeling though didn't leave as Alex got out of the car, the pressure between them seemed too much to let go of.

The second they got into the house Alex went to run up to her bedroom to hide away "Stop!" Dom commanded making Alex jump. She stopped and turned to him with her head down looking up through her lashes. "Come here." He said gently. Alex took the few steps down from the stairs still keep a distance between the two of them.

"I told you to stay close to me." Dom said quietly, but she could still hear the anger in his voice.

"I'm sorry, Dom. I didn't mean to lose you! I was looking at a car and then the guy was behind me and then I realized you weren't there!" Alex's statement was said quickly and with such desperation it tore at him.

"Take a breath." He waited until she inhaled deeply. "What happened next?"

"Well, when I realized that you weren't there I tried to find you. I asked him if he'd seen you and he said that you sent him to get me. He took me down the alley and I was about to leave but he said you had a surprise for me and I've never gotten a surprise before so…" Dom nodded understanding, but he still was so angry.

"This guy, was his name Jake?" Alex nodded stiffly. He took a deep breathe breathing out through his nose. "What did he do to you?" She sat down on the bottom step pulling her legs up to her chest. Dom sat alongside her, resisting the urge to reach out for her.

"He said something bad so I tried to leave. He grabbed my wrist." She held up her hurt wrist and Dom saw that it was again broken.

"Shit Alex!" He jumped up. "Why didn't you tell me?" Alex looked down at Dom's harsh voice.

"I tried." She said meekly. Dom rubbed a hand over head as he realized how badly he had reacted.

"Come on." He took her good hand and led her into the kitchen. There was a full moon out tonight that shined through the window giving off enough light that when Dom went to turn on the light Alex stopped him.

"Please don't. My head hurts so bad." Dom nodded before picking Alex up and placing her on the counter. Dom had to reset the bone in Alex's wrist again which seemed to hurt her worse than before but thankfully she didn't pass out. He grabbed her some pain killers for her head, wrist, and swelling. He got her an ice pack and had her hold it to her eye.

"How does that feel?"

"Cold." She said simply. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around the ice pack.

"Better?" She nodded slowly. "Good." He grabbed another towel and wetting the tip with some Jack Daniels that had been left out, he gently dabbed at her lip.

"Ow." She hissed pulling back.

"You're lucky it's just the corner split, with all the blood I thought your whole lip was going to be busted open." He said before touching the corner of her lip again. She hissed pulling back again.

"Keep your head still." He reprimanded pulling himself closer so he was standing between her legs while snaking his hand behind her cradling her head gently so she couldn't pull back. Dom did all of this without thinking, he just wanted her cleaned up and taken care of.

And then he saw her eyes.

Her beautiful blue eyes that seemed to glow in the moon light. Her eyes that were now staring up into his dark eyes, begging him. Her eyes that were now on his lips. He closed his dark eyes and she mirrored him. He kissed the part of her lips that were unscathed, gently. As they kissed Alex was filled with such a warmth that her initial coldness from the ice pack and pain was forgotten. Alex didn't understand, she'd been forced to kiss men before, but this was different. So perfectly different. It seemed natural, she was drawn to his lips, and she wanted more of him.

Dom let his tongue glaze across Alex's lips begging for entrance which she immediately gave. Alex tasted sweet yet had a coppery tint that Dom guessed was from her wounds. "Dom." Alexis whispered his name as they parted and he nearly stripped her bare right on the counter. He lifted his hand to hold cheek but his thumb skimmed across her bruise making her draw back.

"Sorry." She said quietly afraid that she'd ruined the moment.

"It's okay." Dom said shifting to the other cheek. "It was my bad." He stroked her unmarred cheek with his thumb and smiled as Alex's eyes fluttered shut. She nuzzled her cheek into his palm and gave a sigh of content at his warmth.

"Do you know how long I've been wanting to do that?" Dom seemed to purr.

"Why didn't you sooner than?" She asked opening her eyes but not pulling away from his hand.

"I didn't want to push you too soon." He answered honestly.

"I'm glad you did." She said softly turning her head so her lips now kissed his palm. "Thank you." Dom shook his head as he saw the marks on her upper arm, marks that Jake didn't give her.

"I'm sorry about tonight, Alexis." He said tracing the finger marks on her arm. "I got so fucking scared when I couldn't find you. Jake has been looking for a way to get me back for years now, I knew he was there… I thought he might have taken you. I thought he may have tried something with you."

"He did." She said trying to keep the shiver out of her voice.

"I'm gonna kill him."

"Please no, whatever is happening to him now I'm sure that it's going to be a good enough warning." She reach her hand up timidly and placed it on his cheek. Dom smiled at her gentle touch, all thoughts of Jake melted to the back of his mind.

"We've got to get you healed up." He said as his thumb just ghosted above her lip. Alex trembled at his touch. He touched her injured wrist, her bruised cheek, and every scrape that he could see. Everywhere that he touched that was once painful now tingling with a warm sensation.

"Are you in a hurry now?" She smiled, but Dom could also see that there was some fear in her eyes. She liked Dom, but she wasn't comfortable with taking things so far.

"Trust me hun, I'd like nothing more than to hurry things along." Alex eyes dropped from his face. He gently lifted her chin to meet his eyes. "But you're worth the wait." Alex smiled shyly at Dom. "Besides I wasn't talking about that. I've got a surprise for you." Alex gave him a look of disbelief. "Really this time." Her look went from disbelief so astonishment.

"Really? What is it?" She was excited as a kid on Christmas.

"It wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you now would it?" Dom laughed. Alex pursed her lips in a pout but conceded.

"I guess not." She sighed. "So when do I get it?" She asked quite a bit happier.

"Once you're healed up. We can't do it unless you're in good shape."

"So it's not a thing?" Alex asked inquisitively with one eye brow raised.

"Oh no you don't!" He took a step back. "You're not going to get any more clues out of me!" He said wagging his finger at her. She gave him a small challenging smirk.

"Okay, Dom." She said trying to sound innocent but failing miserably.

"You're getting too damn smart woman." She smiled coming back closer to her leaning in so there lips almost touched. "Good thing I like smart woman." He gave her a sweet gentle kiss. At least it was supposed to be until Alex pulled him back in deepening the kiss. Dom placed his hands on her hips tenderly rubbing her sensitive skin. Alex gave a soft moan into his mouth driving Dom crazy.

"Oh, Alex." He pulled back slightly out of breath. "If we keep this up I'm not going to be able to wait much longer."

"Don't then." Alex whispered into his lips. Dom groaned into her mouth as she kissed him again.

"That's the hormones talking baby." Dom responded as he pulled back. "I want to make sure when we do, you're ready. That we're ready. I don't want you to regret a single moment of us being together." He said running a thumb over her bottom lip.

Alex smiled nodding her head. "You're right, Dom."

"It's almost one in the morning, you need to rest up if you want to heal, why don't you head off to bed?" Alex bit her lip as she looked up into Dom's dark eyes.

"Come with me?" Dom smirked as he rubbed the top of her leg.

"To sleep, that's it." He said firmly but with a smile on his face. Alex nodded happily. Dom wrapped his arms her waist lifting her with ease and gently placed her on the ground. "Now get to bed, sweats, large shirt, and anything else you can think of to make you less appealing." Alex giggled walking towards the stairs. Dom saw the way the denim skirt swayed with her forming hips and playfully gave her a small spanking.

With a yelp and laugh Alex ran the stairs and into her bedroom. Dom wanted her, even after she had made him angry. She needed to stop making him angry though, she needed to make sure to tell him that when he came in. She made sure to wear the sweat pants and a baggy shirt of his, she even messed up her hair a bit. She smiled at her ridiculous reflection in the mirror. And that's when she realized something. She was smiling, and not just when Dom and Mia made her laugh, she was just happy.

She touched her lips where they still tingled from Dom's mouth. She frowned reaching the corner of her lip that was sore from Jake, somehow in all the kitchen activity her lip was forgotten but now it smarted, her wristed was painful, and her cheek throbbed. Dom was right, she needed to heal up.

A knock sounded on the door making Alex light up again and forget about her aches. Dom entered seeing Alex in one of his shirts and her hair messed up in a just had sex sort of way. Dom groaned rolling his eyes, he wasn't going to be able to wait for long.

As they settled into bed, Dom smirked at Alex's blush. He put his hand on her arm trailing it softly up and down giving Alex goose bumps. "Dom." Alex said quietly "Sorry I make you angry." Dom sighed taking his hand off of her shoulder.

"Alex, you don't make me angry." Dom said softly. "Hell, you make me the happiest I've been in a long time. A very long time actually."

"I do?" Dom was saddened by the shock in her voice.

"Yes Alex." He said simply pressing his lips to her in an innocent kiss in order to show her how happy he really was, but he pulled back quickly to avoid going any further with her. "I'm sorry I was so rough with you earlier, Alex. I should have never done that to you. Remember, no one has the right to hurt you, even me." He rubbed her unhurt cheek. "If I ever hurt you, you need to tell me, okay?" Alex nodded.

"I'm going to do everything I can to make you safe, okay?" Alex smiled up at him giving him a small kiss.

"I know you will, Dom." Dom wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"Good, now go to sleep and rest up so you can heal up and we can get you your surprise." He winked as her eyes light up in delight at the reminder of his gift. She snuggled close to him and took in a deep breath, breathing in the scent of Dom Toretto, before exhaling in a contented sigh.

"Good night, Dom." She said smiling.

"Sweet dreams, Alexis." He said kissing the top of her head.

"Father, I've got some news on your missing girl." Jake smiled darkly at the older man who sat in his oversize chair reading. The man said nothing but nodded his head smiling a sinister smile that made eve Jake a little fearful. He leaned his chair back putting his fingers together in a triangle.

"Good work." The man said finally not looking at the young man. "Discuss the details with Mr. Thompson and he will see you out." He answered dismissively. The boy exited with a quick look of apprehension to the man who sat quietly smiling an evil smile, thinking evil thoughts.

**Hope you enjoyed! A big thank you to everyone that has reviewed/followed:**

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	11. The Talk

**Hello everyone! I'm so sorry this chapter took me longer to update than it should have, but I had a death in the family so it's been difficult time. But I'm back and hopefully will be able to update the next chapter sooner. A big thank you to everyone for your patience! Hope you all like it! **

**OH and I should warn you the last part of this chapter get's a bit naughty. Sorry if you don't like it, but I felt it was important to help Alex grow. Enjoy!**

The next day Dom woke up to the sun streaming through the window. The rays danced across half of Alex's face giving her an angelic glow, the other half buried in his shoulder. He couldn't believe that she, this girl that had been through so much, this girl who had suffered so many cruelties was now lying in bed with him. Trusting him. She really was an angel, so pure, so innocent. What was she doing with him? Dominic Toretto was not a man that should be with a woman like Alexis… What was her last name? There was too much that he didn't know about her; too much that he wanted to know.

Dom's troubling thoughts were forgotten as Alex stirred. He thought that she was going to wake but instead she just turned into the light more. It was then that he saw the bruise on her cheek and the cut on her lip. It seemed that Jake's punch did some damage, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. _Pussy._ Dom thought darkly. He still wanted to track him down and finish him, but Alex had asked him not to. _She too much of a saint. _But it was one of the many things he loved about her. She didn't judge him or the rest of the family on their past.

"Dom." Alex whispered in her sleep to Dom's delight. He wished he could know what she was dreaming about but she didn't say anything further. Finally Dom could resist it no longer, he stretched over to give her a kiss on the forehead.

Alex's eye flew open and she sunk as far into the mattress as she could. "Hey it's okay." Dom said gently stroking her cheek. Alex's took a breath to slow down her rapidly beating heart.

"Sorry." She sighed liking her lips.

"It's okay, I should have thought that through better. Sorry." Alex gave him a small smile kissing his lips.

"Do you think I'll ever be normal?" Alex grimaced. She didn't want to always be a freak, she wanted to be like sweet like Mia, as tough as Letty, a leader like Dom, as funny as Leon, smart as Jesse and strong as Vince; she doubted this would ever be possible.

"No." Dom answered with a straight face. Alex was taken aback by his bluntness, until she saw his lip slightly curl not being able to hold a straight face. "But who ever wanted to be normal anyways?" Alex frowned.

"Me." She said simply.

"No you don't. Normal is boring. Normal is just… vanilla."

"Like vanilla ice cream?" Alex asked completely bemused.

"Exactly!" Dom smiled happy that he was finally being able to explain himself.

"I like vanilla ice cream." Alex shrugged.

"Exactly, everyone likes vanilla ice cream. But no one _loves_ vanilla ice cream by itself. Chocolate on the other hand."

"MMMHHH!" Alex through her head back moaning. Dom had to clutch the sheets in order to keep from jumping the poor girl. "I _looooove _chocolate!" Dom had to laugh at the light that shined through her eyes at the mere mention of her favorite food.

"Really? I would have never guessed." Dom smirked.

"You know I love chocolate, right?" Dom gave her a small smile. "Oh you're being sarcastic." She gave an embarrassed chuckle to which Dom reached out a ruffled her hair.

"Come on, let's get some food." Dom smiled at the little pout that she tried to hide. Alex didn't want to leave the bed. She didn't want to leave the warmth of the bed, she didn't want to leave the embrace of his arms. With a sigh Alex rolled out of bed putting a hand through her messy hair.

Dom and Alex stumbled out of the bedroom and into the deserted house realizing why it was so quiet; there wasn't anyone in the house. "Guess everyone else passed out at a party somewhere." Dom shrugged

"Do you think they're okay?" Alex worried.

"Yeah, they'll be fine." Dom smiled liking the idea of them having the house to themselves. They walked down to the kitchen and Dom had to smile as he watched Alex try to climb onto the counter. It was something that she usually did to watch Mia cook breakfast but with her injured wrist there was no way that she was going to be able to push herself up like usual. Dom easily scooped up the small girl and set her on the counter.

"Thanks Dom." She smiled facing him. Suddenly they were both reminded of the exact position the night before. Dom stepped up to the counter and slowly lowered his lips onto hers. As they pulled apart Dom rested his forehead on hers.

"You know, I don't think I've ever been happier in my life than right now." He whispered to her as if afraid if he said it too loud it would all come crumbling down around him.

"You know," She smiled brightly imitating him. "I'm really glad that you caught me." Dom barked out a laughing pulling back from her looking into her laughing eyes. He cradled her face and Alex brought her lips close to his. "I know I've never been happy in my life, until the day I met you." She sealed that sentence with a sweet light kiss that Dom was more than happy to return.

An interrupting cough caught them off guard making them pull back with such force Alex's head slammed into the cabinet behind her. "Ow." She moaned as she hesitantly touched the back where there was sure to be a lump.

Dom frowned at her before he turned and was met with a disapproving Mia and a smiling Brian. "Hey Mia, Brian." Dom nodded as nonchalantly as he could. It wasn't the first time that his sister had caught him making out with a girl, unfortunately she'd caught him doing far worse with a girl. This was different though, and they all knew it.

"Can I speak with you Dom?" Everyone froze at the tension in Mia's voice. Even Alex the oblivious could hear that Mia was not happy, although she didn't know why.

"Mia?" Alex frowned peaking around Dom's large frame.

"Don't worry hun." Mia smiled a false, but reassuring smile. "I just want to have a talk with Dom." Dom rolled his eyes at Mia's theatrics but respectfully turned to follow Mia out of the kitchen. Brian pulled out a mug for coffee and poured himself some before leaning against the counter next to Alex.

"So." He said finally. "You and Dom huh?" Alex looked at him in confusion. "You guys an item or something, like dating?"

"Um…" Alex didn't know, she's never been in this type of situation before.

"Or if you're just messing around that's cool too." He said quickly. "Although, I doubt Mia will think it's okay." He shrugged taking another sip of coffee.

"Well, how did you and Mia start dating?" Brian smirked thinking of the night he helped Mia do dishes while Vince ragged on him. It turned out to be a good night.

"I took her out for dinner." Brian settled figuring simple would be better.

"And then you fell in love?" Alex asked hopefully.

"Well, there was a lot that happened in between." Brian smiled. "But yeah, eventually we both fell in love. To be honest though, I think I've been in love with her the second I saw her working at the restaurant." Alex smiled dreamily staring off to where Mia had dragged Dom off.

"I didn't really like Dom at first." She admitted. "He was scary, and I thought that he was going to be mad when he caught me since I stole the sandwich." She clutched her wrist as she remembered his grip. "But then… I don't know, things changed."

"You like him now huh?" Brian smirked.

"He makes me happy, and he's so nice, and he cares about me." Brian smiled as Alex's eye lit up in realization. "Yeah, I think I really do like him." She smiled. Brian thought back on Dom's list of women, sure Dom never technically cheated on Letty, but that doesn't mean he was exactly faithful either. Dom liked being desired by woman, and who could blame him? But was he ready to give up the flirting? Letty was strong enough in herself that she was able to brush it off, but Alex? She was too fragile, her heart would be broken so easily.

"Just be careful okay?" Brian warned. In the time that Alex had been living with them he'd become close to the girl and saw her as a little sister, someone to protect. He couldn't stand to see his best friend, his brother, hurt her.

"Are you talking about what Mia said? About it hurting?" Brian was thoroughly confused, had Mia given her "The Talk"? Brian shifted awkwardly now regretting opening his mouth.

"Um, well…" Brian stuttered.

"About how if you fall in love it can hurt."

"Oh that." Brian sighed in relief. "Yeah, it can."

"You okay?" Alex asked tilting her head.

"Yeah, just thinking." Alex nodded deciding she'd leave it at that.

"Dominic what the hell are you thinking?" Mia whirled on him before the door even closed. Dom opened his mouth to explain himself but before he could get a single syllable out she was back on him. "I expected to have this talk with Leon or hell even Vince, but you? I thought you knew better than this!" Dom tried to say something but was once again stopped. "Oh no I don't want any of your bullshit excuses! You're going to listen to me!" Dom put his hands up in surrender knowing it would be impossible when she was like this. "I thought you knew that she wasn't just some girl that you could hit it and then kick her to the curb. She's different Dom, and you're just going to take advantage of her? I thought that she meant more to you than that!"

"She does!" Mia's rant was caught in her throat. "Yeah Mia, now you can listen to me." Mia closed her mouth and nodded. "Mia, I like her. I've liked her for a very long time now but I haven't acted on it because I didn't want to take advantage of her. I've been fighting this for a long time, but after last night…" Dom took a deep breath remembering the fear and anger he'd felt when he thought he'd lost her. "Mia, I can't pretend that I don't have feelings for her. And you know what? She likes me too. Will we be married one day and live happily ever after? How knows, but why can't we have a chance at it?"

Mia took a big breath looking up at her older brother. "You've got to be careful with her Dom. She's not like other girls."

Dom smiled thinking of all the ways that Alex wasn't like other girls. "I know, I would never hurt her Mia." Mia nodded finally letting a little smile through.

"So how long have you been keeping it a secret?"

"I told you, it wasn't until last night that we decided there was no point in pretending." Dom shrugged.

"I've known that she's like you for a long time. And I saw how different you were with her, but I've never seen you like this before; not even with Letty. I thought maybe you were going for father figure, not baby daddy." She jokingly pushed his shoulder.

"She's not that much younger than me." Dom rolled his eyes. Mia laughed but didn't feel like ragging on him anymore, with a sigh she threw her arms around her brother's shoulders.

"Just be careful okay?" Dom held his sister tightly to him.

"Okay Mia." As they broke the hug Mia smiled up at him seeing now how much Alex had changed him.

"Come on, I'm sure your girl and my man are wondering who will come out alive." She teased.

"My money would be on you." Dom smiled throwing his arm around Mia's shoulders.

"Money well placed." Mia nodded. The two laughed as they walked back into the kitchen seeing Alex still on the counter and Brian standing awkwardly looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.

"Mia!" Brian happily pushed himself off the counter seeming to be delighted for the distraction. "Everything okay now?" He asked seeing Dom's arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Mia smiled up at Dom.

"Good, well we're going to get ready now." Brian took Mia out of Dom's arms and practically pushed her up the stairs.

"What's up with him?" Alex shrugged at Dom's question.

"You thought I gave her _The Talk_?" Alex and Dom's eyes both went to the ceiling where they heard Mia's laughter and Brian trying to get her to be quiet.

"Dom?" _Oh no, please don't._ Dom thought dreading what Alex was going to ask. "What's _'The Talk'_?" Dom closed his eyes trying to remember the delicate way his father tried to break it down for him.

"Well…" Dom didn't want to tell her, but what could he do. "You see when a man and a woman love each other." _Oh man this is not going good._ "I mean, when two people are attracted to each other, sometimes the man with take his uh… penis, and put it inside the woman." _Oh this is going so bad._

"You mean, fucking?" Dom was shocked at the blunt way she said it. That's all she'd known it to be, fucking. Dom sighed, she never had made love all she knew was fucking.

"Um, yeah… kinda." He said rubbing his hand over his head.

"Dom?" Alex asked meekly, Dom could hear the fear in Alex voice.

"Yes, Alex?" Dom sighed tired even though he'd just woken up.

"You're not planning on doing that to me, right?"

"Uh… well, not anytime too soon, and not until you're ready, but yeah eventually." Dom choked out. Alex's eyes widened and Dom could see her start to tremble. "Alex?"

"You said you wouldn't hurt me!" Alex nearly yelled.

"Alex baby, I'm not going to hurt you." He raised his hand to her cheek but she moved away quickly. Dom pulled his hand back to saw her he wouldn't touch her if she didn't want to be touched. "Alex, I swear, we won't do anything that you don't want to." Dom saw Alex blinking back tears and it broke his heart. Whatever this sick bastards did to her was beyond.

"But, you just said you wanted to fuck me." She accused.

"Baby, whatever those people did to you was wrong and evil. I'm sure what they did to you isn't what people would call fucking. I want to make love to you sometime, but I would never hurt you." He reached down and touched her cheek smiling that she was finally letting him touch her.

Alex let herself relax as Dom's fingers brushed over her skin. "Alex?" Alex opened her eyes and looked into Dom's. "When I touch you, what do you feel?"

"Now?" Dom nodded. "I feel… warm, and dizzy…good." Alex smiled.

"Come here." He picked Alex up off the counter and set her on the ground and had her follow him up to his bedroom.

"What are we doing here?" Alex asked sitting on the bed.

"You said when I touched it made you feel good, right?"

"Yeah." She said confused as Dom sat next to her.

"And where do you feel this?" Dom asked as he put his lips to her throat. Alex shivered as a jolt of pleasure shot down her spine. "Where does it feel good?"

"On my neck." He kissed her again and she let out a tiny gasp.

"Where else?" He whispered huskily against her flesh.

"My heart." He took her ear lobe into his mouth and gave a gentle bite making her moan.

"Where else, Alex?" He asked gruffly.

"My… my stomach." Dom reached down and touched her the bit flesh peeking out by her hips.

"There?" Dom smirked as Alex nearly jumped off the mattress. Alex nodded.

"And lower." Dom lazily dragged his fingers to the center of her stomach.

"Lower?" Alex gripped the bed cover, biting her lip seemingly unable to do anything other than nod. Dom captured her lips with his pulling her lip from between her teeth and sucking it into his mouth. Dom slowly inched his hand down the front of her sweat pants. Alex tensed the moment that his hand met to front of her underwear. "It's okay, I got you baby." Dom traced the front of her through her underwear and it was all she needed for it to be her undoing.

"Dom." She groaned as she withered underneath him gripping tight to him back. She fell back onto the bed as she came down from her high still seeing stars. Dom knew that he was skilled with women, but as he looked down at her panting even he was surprised.

"What was _that_?" Alex asked once she'd finally gotten her wind back.

"That, is only a small taste of what it feels like when you make love." Dom smirked feeling thoroughly pleased with himself.

"That's what it feels like?" Alex asked in astonishment.

"No, it feels even better." He gave her cocky smile. "And when you're ready, when we're ready, I'll show you exactly how good it can be." Dom tried not to let the strain he felt come through his voice. He was happy that he'd been able to have Alex see how wonderful sex could be, but his pride wasn't the only thing that had swelled.

"Alex, why don't you go pick out a movie and we'll have a movie day, how does that sound?" Alex smiled at him rolling off the bed.

"Sounds great." Dom smirked at her small wobble before she collected herself and walked to the door. She turned back to Dom though when she realized that he wasn't following her.

"Aren't you coming?" Dom looked down at his lap before looking back up at her.

"I'll be there in a few minutes." Alex shrugged walking down stairs with stars in her eyes and a permanent grin glued to her face.

Dom laid in bed with thoughts of Alex trembling with pleasure under his form. The look of pleasure in her eyes, the gentle noises she made, the way her body clung to him. With Alex on his mind it didn't take him long to fix his current problem.

He was thrilled that Alex wasn't afraid of sex, but now that he'd seen her pleasure, he wanted to give her more. Of course, there were always more innocent ways of giving pleasure. For now he would just have to be satisfied with making her laugh, making her smile, making her happy. Dom smiled as he thought of her laughter. _How did a no good thug like me get a girl like her?_

**Well there you go ladies and gentlemen. Again sorry for it taking so long but hopefully it was worth it. You guys are all wonderful! Thank you very much to the people who followed/favored me:**

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	12. The Anticipated Surprise

Hey everyone, sorry for the lack of updates things have been hectic. I really appreciate your support and your reviews. You guys have been a big help at when I needed it most. I _promise_ I'll update again this week.

"It's been two months since the bitch was sited and you still haven't made a move." James huffed with great irritation. He crossed his arms like a child and threw himself back into the large leather chair. Mr. Thompson lifted his brow looking towards the elderly man who was sitting across from the pouting boy in amused disgust.

"I really don't see how it is any concern of yours what I chose to do with my property, James." The man answered him without looking up from writing.

"She could ruin everything for you, if she goes to the cops she-"

"Wouldn't be believed, James." Mr. Thompson interrupted the boy. "Besides, she hasn't gone to them yet and I don't foresee that changing." The boy glared at Mr. Thompson but knew better than to say anything against him. He opened his mouth to say something but the old man raised his hand to silence him.

"James I think it's getting late." The boy closed his eyes in defeat before swinging himself up off the chair.

"Yes, Father." The men waited until they were sure the boy was far down the hall.

"I don't see why you keep letting him in here." Mr. Thompson said in his usual monotone voice.

"What can I say? I kind of have to have a soft spot for him. Besides he's proven useful, maybe he'll be of some use in the future." The man smirked as he put the ear piece of his glasses to his lips. "In fact…" He pointed his glasses at Mr. Thompson in thought. "We do need to bring the brat back, maybe James can be of more use than we thought."

Mr. Thompson smirked at the other man's devious smile. "Oh Marcus, I like where this is going. What's the plan?" Marcus eyes gleamed in dark glee as he discussed the information with Mr. Thompson, getting his input when needed. The two schemed and schemed until the plan seemed perfect.

"Marcus, you are indeed the most sinister man I have ever known." Marcus sat back in his seat thoroughly pleased with himself.

"You know, I think you're absolutely right." The man picked up his pen again but before his started to write he gave one last shake of his head. "She's never going to know what hit her."

"You got everything?" Dom asked as he threw his bag into the small trunk of his car

"How am I supposed to know? You won't tell me where we're going!" Alex pouted wanting for Dom to just tell her. She'd been healed for some time now and she'd been begging him for her surprise now for weeks and now it seemed that it was finally coming to pass, but it was torturing her not to know. Dom smirked at her pouting lips before he leaned down to give her a swift kiss.

"Quit whining." He smiled ruffling her hair. "Mia knows what's up and she packed your bag with anything that you could need."

"Is that why she packed me two bags for a weekend trip?" Alex asked raising an eyebrow. Dom shook his head as he looked at the cramped trunk, knowing he'd have to put stuff in the back seat now since it was full.

"She likes to be prepared?" Dom shrugged. "Come on, let's go." Dom said finally putting the last of the bags in. Alex excitingly climbed in with him ready for her surprise. She thought she was ready at least. After a not so long drive, which seemed to take forever in Alex's mind, Dom finally pulled off the freeway and towards a sign the read "Frazier Park." She watched as the city disappeared being replaced by a never ending expanse with trees as the car climbed up the mountain.

"This is beautiful, Dom!" Alex bounced in her seat alternating between looking out her window, the windshield, and Dom's.

"You should see it during the winter, place is covered in snow, it's amazing." Dom smirked at her sporadic movements as she pointed everything out.

"Snow? Like real snow?"

"Um, yeah. I'm guessing you've never seen snow before?" Alex shook her head. "This winter I'll take you out in the snow."

"Really?" Dom saw the sparkle in her eyes and couldn't disappoint her.

"Promise." He winked at her as she smiled up at him.

"You're the best, Dom." Alex leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, for everything." Dom smiled down at her as he took her hand in his. He gently kissed the back of her hand while he rubbed her knuckles with his thumb. Dom pulled into a section marked tent camping and drove down the road a bit.

"What's that mean, Dom?"

"What's what mean?" Dom asked trying to find the turn he was looking for not really pay attention.

"Tent camping only." She quoted the sign.

"It means you can only camp in tents here, no RVs allowed." He said distractedly.

"What's camp mean?" Dom nearly slammed on the brakes to look at her.

"Camping, is when you're outdoors and you sleep in a tent and…" Alex had her brow raised not understanding what he was talking about. "You'll love it, promise." Alex shrugged trusting that Dom knew her better than she knew herself most of the time.

"Here we are." Dom smiled as he pulled up to a site. "Same as always, people are too lazy to come this far in." It was Dom that was getting excited now. "Come on." He urged jumping out of the car and grabbing Alex's hand. He walked further into the campsite until he heard Alex gasp.

"Dom." It was all she could say as she stared in awe at the most stunning sight she'd ever seen. There were trees that grew along the bank of a river that flowed water as clear as crystal. The water reflected in the afternoon sun making the rays dance along the flowers that lined the pathway to it. The scene looked like something right out of a movie and it made Alex want to smile and cry all at the same time.

"This is… it's… I don't know a stronger word for beautiful." Dom wrapped Alex in his arms pulling her back to his front.

"I understand exactly what you mean." Dom smiled kissing the top of Alex's head. Alex turned in his arms and wrapped hers around him laying her head on his chest.

"Thank you, Dom." Dom chuckled.

"I haven't even shown you your surprise yet." Alex pulled back in confusion.

"You mean this isn't it?"

"Well, it is… kinda but not all of it." He smirked. "Come on." He urged looking at his watch. "We got to set up camp before it gets too dark." Reluctantly Alex let go of Dom and let him guide her to the trunk of the car where the two pulled out all of their gear.

Setting up camp seemed to be an adventure in itself. The tent that was guaranteed to take fifteen minutes or less took closer to forty-five, the bear proof food cabinet also seemed to be Dom and Alex proof, and collecting wood for a fire seemed to turn into a competition to who could get more scrapes and bruises. Throughout all of this though Alex couldn't stop laughing, couldn't stop smiling. This in turn made Dom smile and laugh even when he was struggling to insert pole A into slot B.

"I'm sorry, Alex." Dom said when he was finally done and he was looking over the scratches she'd received from a thorn bush she'd tripped into in her search for firewood.

"For what?" Alex asked with her brows furrowing and her head cocked to the side.

"Well, this isn't going quite the way I planned." He said rubbing the back of his head.

"Are you kidding me? This has been wonderful! I don't think I've had so much fun in my life!" Alex laughed as she rocked from heel to toe, seemingly unable to stop moving.

"Really?" Alex smiled up at Dom's doubtful face, before she reached up and gave him a gentle kiss.

"Really." She confirmed. Dom still looked doubtful so she tried a different way. "Come here." She led Dom down to the brook, found two smooth rocks for them to sit on and put her now bare feet into the water. Before she spoke she tilted her head back and basked in the light of the sun, delighting in the way it seemed to warm her skin and touch her soul.

"Did I ever tell you about the first time I was outside?" Dom gave her a stunned look but he tried to recover quickly. He thought that he was past the point of her shocking him but apparently not. Dom tried to think about the first time he'd ever seen the sun but even his earliest memory wouldn't go back far enough.

Alex saw the appalled look and gave a small sad smile. "I didn't think so." She reached her hand down and touched the water from the running brook. She gave a small laugh as the water trickled through her hand. "It was day I ran away."

"That was the first time you were ever outside?" Dom asked alarmed. He pulled her closer to him as if he could protect her from her past.

"Yeah, I ran away at night. The first thing I saw was the stars. They looked like hope to me. I picked a star and I started running to it. I thought if I could reach it, I'd be far enough away from _them_." Dom tightened his grip on her has she shivered at the memory of them.

"I remember when the sun started to come up, and made my star disappear. I panicked, I didn't know what to do. And then I saw the sun. It took away all the shadows that I thought _they_ were hiding behind. I remember seeing flowers for the first time, the smell of grass, I remember seeing a squirrel for the first time." Alex smiled at the memory of her first animal encounter. "When the sun came up I also saw cars for the first time."

Dom seemed to brighten at this. "What was it?"

"I didn't know at the time, but I messed around with Jesse's computer until I figured it out." Dom smirked at her proud of how much she'd learned and grown since she first came to them.

"So don't leave me in suspense, what was it?" Dom nudged her. She gave a little laugh.

"It was a garbage truck. I thought it was some kind of monster." Dom laughed at the image of her and as Dom laughed Alex laughed harder, it was nice to be able to laugh about something that had been so terrifying at the time. As Dom sobered he looked to Alex remembering what she had said about escaping, it was the first time she'd ever been outside; _they_ had just locked her away.

"Hey Alex," Alex looked at him with a small sad smile as if knowing what he was going to ask. "How was it that you'd never been outside before then?"

"It's kind of a long story." Alex warned. Dom picked the small girl up and placed her in his lap.

"Comfortable?" Alex gave a confused look but nodded. "Good, me too and we've got nothing to do for a few hours. Spill." He commanded. Alex nodded tucking herself into Dom's chest. Dom in turned tightened his grip on her letting her know he was right there with her.

"Well, when I was born my mother died in child birth, like I told you." Dom nodded as he remembered her horrible whipping story. "My father was really sad, he didn't want anything to remind him of my mother so he put me down into the basement. I stayed there for the time I was born to the time I was eight years old. When I turned eight he'd allow me to come upstairs to punish me or just yell at me, but whenever he did that he had the windows blocked up with blanket type things."

"Curtains?" Dom didn't know why he was informing her of this, he wasn't thinking about curtains but it seemed his brain was trying to find some safe topic for Alex, and more than likely himself too.

"Yeah, I think so." Alex nodded. "So I never got to see outside. The basement didn't have any windows." She shrugged. To her it was normal to grow up living in a basement, to live without knowing the smell of fresh cut grass on a Saturday morning, or the feel of the sand between your toes, never climbed a tree, never learning to ride a bike. This was Alex's childhood, four walls and darkness.

"Who took care of you if not your dad?" Alex gave another small smile.

"Ms. Robertson." The girl sighed burying herself into Dom more. "She wasn't allowed to do anything more than feed me and clean me. She wasn't supposed to talk to me, she wasn't supposed to hold me when I cried. All she was allowed to do was the bare minimum. She use to sing to me through." Alex's eyes welled up with tears but she blinked them back. "She sang this song about a star that would twinkle."

"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?" Dom asked. To which Alex pulled back to look at him.

"You know it?" She asked astonished.

"Um, yeah it's kinda popular." He tried hard not to sound condescending about it, and with the smile that she gave him she guessed it had worked.

"When they found out about her singing to me and talking to me they fired her but by that time I was already six years old. I didn't need anyone to look after me anymore. A man would come and give me food, but he wasn't nice like Ms. Robertson." Again Alex shrugged as if it was nothing.

What else did she know though? For the first eight years of her life all Alex knew was her basement. Sure she wondered where Ms. Robertson went when she wasn't there, but whenever she asked what was beyond the basement door the woman would just tell her that she was better off in her basement. Alex just wished that she'd believed her and not snuck up when she had the chance. Alex shuttered at the memory moving herself into Dom's side to block out the memories of that night.

"So why didn't she try to get you out of there?" Dom asked angry that there was someone there who would act like they cared but wouldn't get her out.

"I asked her if I could come with her one time, but she said she couldn't take me from my father. She said that he was a good man, he was just sad. That was when I was really little. As I got older I think she saw what he'd become, that he wasn't a good man, but by that time she'd already been fired." Dom shook his head, she spoke so highly of this Ms. Robertson and yet she'd let them hurt her.

"Please don't be mad at her." Alex said softly. Dom sighed softly closing his eyes. It was something that he loved about her, always seeing the best in people. Alex didn't judge him so what right did he have to just this woman? He nodded but said nothing not liking the idea of forgiving this unknown person that didn't help Alex when she could have.

"You know my father told me that there was a study done where kids were left without any affection at all. Someone took care of their needs and nothing else; like what Ms. Robertson was supposed to do. According to him more than half of the kids died before they stopped their experiment. It's the whole reason he put me down there. He wanted me to die, Dom." Dom tightened his grip on the small girl in his arms, so small and yet so strong, so resilient. "It was only because of her that I lived, I owe her my life."

"It wasn't just her Alex, you're tougher and braver than you give yourself credit for." Dom urged Alex, but she just shrugged. Dom sighed knowing he wasn't going to get through to her right now.

Dom kissed her temple burying his nose in her hair not knowing where he'd be without Alex. After Letty had left him, it had hurt him more than he wanted to admit. Instead of grieving though he had become irate and short with everyone. He knew it wasn't fair, but his anger seemed to fill the hole that she had left. The moment that he set eyes on broken little Alex things seemed to change, at the time he didn't notice, he only saw a girl in need. His want to help turned into caring for the girl, and now? How did Dom Toretto feel about this girl he cradled in his arms? He had feelings for her, he cared for her deeply, but did he love her?

Dom sighed not knowing how to answer the thoughts running through his busy brain. He lifted his eyes and saw the sun was setting. "Come on." He stood letting her slide down him with ease. "Well start the fire, eat something and when it gets dark enough you'll get your surprise."

"Really?" Dom nodded. "What is it?" She asked as she watched Dom setting up the wood in the pit. He smiled up from his kneeling position before he pulled her down next to him. He gave her a sweet kiss that seemed to last forever, and yet was still too short for either of their liking. He put his lips to her ear and whispered.

"We're going to go chase some stars."

Hopefully the wait was worth it. I know it's shorter than normal, but again I'll update again this week. I appreciate everyone who followed and favored:

Neverephemeral, arkansasgrl101, Brooklynnewyork6, t0neverland7, taterbug0491, KendraTheVideoGameNerd, , naviskyy, Lil-Randomer, thewickedendax7, BelikovXOXCullen, DreamingUntilForever11, and LucyJ27.

And for everyone that followed:

Barbie on Crutches, caleb's babe, tatyasdias, Guest, Flowerchild23, AnimeFan001, and Lil-Randomer. You guys are really amazing and I really appreciate your kind words and encouragement! Thanks for reading and reviewing it really means a lot to me. See you later this week.


	13. Chasing Stars

**Hello everyone! I'm so sorry for the late update even though I promised a sooner one. This has been a tough time for my family. My grandfather went into the hospital for a stroke. They are saying he's going to be okay which is a miracle. Thank you for your patience! Hope you enjoy! **

Dom's comment of course didn't give her any clues as to what the surprise was, but after a few minutes of badgering she decided to let it be and wait; with only a small amount of pouting.

"So you just stick the hotdogs on the stick?" She titled her head inspecting her stick.

"Yeah, you just push it right on and hold it over the fire." Alex smiled as she looked down into the fire pit. She'd had liked the warmth of the fire and how the flames danced along the wood as they ate it away. Dom hit the wood and Alex laughed as sparks flew into the now darkened sky before sobering up when looking back at the stick.

"Dom, I don't think that's very clean." She wrinkled her nose as she watched him put the stick through his dog.

"Oh don't be such a girl about it." Dom rolled his eyes.

"Birds poop on sticks." Alex said giving a hotdog on a stick a disgusted look. Dom looked down at the stick in an equally repulsed way before dropping it into the fire.

"And suddenly I'm glad that I figured you wouldn't like to eat food that had a stick through it." Dom turned and pulled out two roasting sticks. Alex smiled at the thought that Dom actually knew her so well. The night was perfect. Alex and Dom ate hot dogs and roasted marshmallows laughing at the stories they swapped. Of course all of Alex's stories were stories that had just occurred over the last eight months. Nothing worth laughing about happened before then.

Dom smiled as Alex tried to stifle a yawn and rubbed her eyes tiredly. He took a look at his watch and smiled. "Come on, it's time to go." He stood brushing off his jeans and grabbed a back pack that Alex hadn't noticed was set by him until then.

"Go? But I thought we were staying the weekend." Dom heard the disappointment in her voice. He smiled down at Alex and bent down to give her a gentle kiss.

"We're not leaving leaving." Dom smiled. "We're going to get your surprise." Suddenly Alex's tiredness was forgotten.

"Really? Now? But it's so late, what could we do this late?" Dom lifted his brow suggestively but it went over Alex head. Dom laughed shaking his head before he turned away from the camp and started walking.

"If you want to find out you better keep up." Dom laughed clicking on the flash light as Alex jumped up running to catch up. Dom smiled as Alex took his free hand. It wasn't long ago that she was hesitant and shy to take his hand whenever he had offered it, now she did so happily without a thought. Dom still marveled though each time he took her hands at how small they were compared to his large callused hands.

"So where are we going?" Dom took the flash light off the path they were on and pointed it toward a large hill in answer. The trees canopied the path so much that Alex had trouble seeing the hill through them.

"We're climbing it now? How come we don't wait until day light so we don't trip over something and break our necks?" Dom had to look down at her to make sure she wasn't Letty. With all of the lessons that Letty had been giving her sometimes he had to check just to be sure.

"Trust me, you're not going to break your neck and this is something that you are going to want to see." Alex shrugged trusting Dom. They hiked for some time and Alex was relieved that Mia had packed her a new pair of hiking boots with insoles. Alex couldn't say she really liked the hiking, she kept stumbling over rocks, but she liked walking with Dom. Although she didn't like the sounds that were coming from the darkness of the forest. More than once when a squirrel ran by she'd jump and practically land in Dom's lap. Not that Dom minded, aside from the fact that his hand was starting to go numb.

"Just around this bend." Dom reassured Alex as she stumbled over a wayward stick. As they rounded the corner the thick trees opened up to a clearing that made Alex come to a halt. Spread out before her was the largest expanse of stars that she'd ever seen. They seemed to go on forever and there were so many of them they seemed to pile on top of each other.

Dom smirked at Alex's shocked expression knowing that he'd done well. After giving Alex a moment he tugged on her hand. "Come on, we got to get a good seat." Alex followed him without thinking never taking her eyes off of the sky above.

Once they came to the cliff Alex was able to see just how far up they had come and finally got her voice back. "Dom, this is… beautiful." She finally settled on still wishing she knew a better word. He let go of her hand and pulled the strap off of his shoulder. From the back pack he pulled out a blanket and pillow. He laid the blanket down and set the pillow at the top.

"Alex." Dom called her back from the edge of the cliff and motioned for her to lay down with him. Alex happily rested her head on Dom's chest while looking up at the stars.

"Dom, this is amazing! Thank you so much." She smiled down at him before placing a kiss on his lips which Dom was happy to return. What started off as an innocent kiss soon turned into a teenage make out session.

"Wait…" Dom pulled back and looked up.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked concerned that she had messed something up.

"Your surprise." He whispered pointing towards the sky. Alex turned in his arms until she was facing the sky. Alex cocked her head to the side looking up at the sky with a smile, but not understanding what Dom meant. The stars were awe-inspiring and Alex stared as if hypnotized. Her trance was broken though with a loud gasp that escaped her lips.

"Dom! Did you see that?" Alex asked in horror.

"Yeah, baby." Dom smiled rubbing her back.

"What was that? It looked like… like…" Alex couldn't explain what it looked like.

"Like a falling star?" Dom suggested.

"Yes, oh no, the stars aren't falling are they?" Alex hand flew to her mouth.

"No, no, no." Dom laughed. "It wasn't really a star, Hun."

"But, what was it then?" Alex asked in confusion.

"People call them shooting stars, but really they're just meteorites." He said pulling her back down to his side.

"Wow, there's another one!" She pointed excitedly as another streaked the sky. "What's a meteorite?"

"It's like a big chunk of rock from outer space that gets in the atmosphere." Alex confused look came back at his explanation. "Rocks that get too close to the earth." Alex nodded with slight hesitation. "Understand?"

"Kinda?" Was her unsure response. Dom laughed shaking his head before he kissed the top of her head.

"You know a lot of people go their whole lives without seeing a single shooting star."

"Really? Are they… um…"

"Rare?" Dom supplied.

"Yeah, rare." Alex agreed. "Are they rare?"

"If you don't know where and when to look." Dom smiled cockily.

"What do you mean I've seen two already?" She barely got it out of her mouth before she pointed up to another one. "Look there's another one! That's three."

"Exactly, because you're with me." Alex furrowed her brows at him not understanding what he was talking about. "It's called a meteor shower." He told her simply.

"What's that mean?" She hated the feeling that she didn't know anything, but she loved that she was learning new things.

"It means that while most people never see a single shooting star, tonight you're going to see hundreds."

"Hundreds?" Alex gaped with an open mouth to which Dom took full advantage of and kissed. Alex giggled at the unexpected kiss.

"Look." He pulled Alex down so she was laying on her back on with her head laying on his chest and his arms wrapped around her front. Just then two more streaked across the sky. Alex stared in astonishment as more and more shooting stars lit up the sky.

"You know," Dom ended the silence. "They say if you wish upon a shooting star that it'll come true." Alex smiled and turned to look down at him.

"But all my wishes have come true." Dom looked into her eyes and saw that she truly meant what she said.

"I've got a wish." Dom smirked.

"What?" Dom reached up pulled Alex down in a deep kiss. "You're getting pretty damn good at that." Dom laughed.

"Practice makes you perfect." Alex smiled. Dom smirked at Alex's slightly altered saying.

"Well I don't know how, but let's make you more perfect." He said as he brought his lips back up to hers. Dom's hands rested on her hips rubbing small circles that make Alex moan in pleasure.

Alex groaned as Dom slipped his finger into her belt loops and flipped her under him. "Dom." She cupped his face and ran her thumb over his cheek. "I… I think I may be in love with you." Dom smiled down at her before putting his lips to hers again, but this kiss was different. It wasn't the hungry, lustful kiss that it had started off to be; instead it was soft, gentle, full of passion, and full of love.

"Then my wish came true." He answered resting his forehead on hers. "Because I think I may be in love with you too." He softly caressed her cheek wiping away a stray tear. "What are you crying for baby?"

"No one's ever said they love me before." Alex gave him a watery smile.

"I love you." He kissed her cheek. "I love you." He grazed her lips with his. "I love you." He kissed her neck. "I love you." He whispered before coming back to her lips giving her a long meaningful kiss. Alex wrapped her hands around his neck deepening the kiss. When they pulled back Dom smiled down at the beautiful girl in his arms.

"Alexis, I will tell you every day of my life that I love you." Alex was speechless, how could mere words ever express what she was feeling. There could never be enough words to explain the fact that she felt like laughing, singing, crying and running all at once. So instead she clung to the man that she had come to love. The man that she knew she could trust not to hurt her, would protect her, would make her laugh, would make her better, would love her with his whole heart.

Alex pulled back from the embrace so she could look into his dark eyes. In those eyes she saw the same emotions that she was feeling; love, joy, peace and fear. Alex laughed throwing her head back with her sheer happiness. "I love you too, Dom." Dom let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and relaxed.

"I've got to ask you something Alex. I know it may seem random, but…" Alex nodded at him to continue. "What's your last name?"

"What?" Alex pulled back surprised at his question.

"Your last name, you've never told anyone in all the time you've been with us." Alex smiled up at Dom. She sat up making Dom pull back. Dom placed the girl in his lap knowing this might not have been a good question when everything was going to perfect.

"Dom, I don't know." She laughed in a scoffing sort of manner.

"You don't know your last name?"

"I don't know my first name, Dom." Alex smiled up at him.

"Wait, but I thought it was Alexis." She gave him a slight shake of her head.

"I'm sorry, I kinda lied to you that day. You grabbed me and asked me my name and I saw a Lexis in the parking lot. I said 'Uh Lexis'. When you asked me if it was Alexis I liked it so I went with it."

"I'm kind of afraid to ask, but what did they call you if not a name?" Alex gave a small laugh again shaking her head.

"I thought for the longest time my name was Bitch."

"What?" Dom could feel his anger spiking.

"It's okay, Dom. It doesn't hurt me anymore. I spent so much time trying to get my father's approval and it hurt that I never could, that he would call me those names, but I know that's not who I am. I'm not a bitch, or a slut, or anything else they called me. I'm Alexis, and that's good enough for me." Dom was shocked at her attitude. She had been such a delicate girl when he'd first met her, she was so fragile. But this, girl? This was not the same little broken girl, she was strong now, sure of herself. And for that he knew that he had his team to thank. They'd all work with her, teaching her new things; with the exception of Vince but even he had come around and made Alex his little sister.

"And you're too good for me." Dom smirked.

"Never. I am who I am today because of you and the family. I could never thank you enough for inviting me into your home that day. You saved my life, gave me a new life." She leaned up giving him a kiss. "It's no wonder I fell in love with you."

"Best decision I ever made."

"I happen to like it." Alex laughed. "So why did you want to know anyways?"

"Well, my dad always told me before you fall in love with a girl you need to know her last name."

Alex laughed again at his father's wise words. Her laugh was cut off though as she gasped. "Dom!" Dom turned looking for whatever had stopped Alex's laughter. He saw her looking at the sky in awe and saw that the meteor shower had finally began. The sky was riddled with so many of them they made the rest of the stars seem dim and diluted.

They sat back, Alex tucked into Dom's side and watched the night sky turn light in the glare of the shooting stars. How long they sat there neither of them really knew, nor cared. They were with the person they loved safe from the world outside of the now. There was no past to dwell on, no future to worry about, just them. And right now that's all that they wanted.

**Hey everyone hope you all enjoyed and I hope it gave you an awe moment on Valentine's Day. Special thanks to everyone who favored/followed:**

**DayDreamBabyBee, , XxLightAngel90Xx, jessie-lee95, toosmall13, WickedLove01, and BrokenGamerDoll. I'm glad you're liking the story and I hope I can continue to make it a great one for you!**

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